Blood Roses
by fallenfromlighttodark
Summary: Kat Maurder was always the girl in the shadows, always the girl who would smile and bear it. That is, until she discovered herself through her friends and fell in love with a boy she never expected. But through it all, Kat also harbors a dark secret, a demon that haunts her. OCXGeorge, OCXSeamus, RonXHermione, HarryXGinny. Goes through all seven books, rated T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a random story I decided to write. I don't expect it to be more than a few chapters long, but it still might be some fun to write :) I love Harry Potter (I'm kind of a geek for it) and I've always wanted to write a fanfiction for it, I just never did. So please rate and review (no flames if it can be helped). WARNING since I get blasted for this occasionally: this story is VERY OC-centric. If that's not your thing, turn back now. Also, in a bit of a change for me, it is set from one character's point of view (mostly...if there are any POV changes I'll let you know). If you don't care if it's OC-centric, read on my friends, read on...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (unfortunately). My characters are my own**

_**Prologue**_

_James and Lily were dead. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had killed them. Sirius couldn't have been responsible. He loved James and Lily. Then again, that devil had a way of making things happen. Maybe he had used one of the Unspeakable Curses on Sirius, like he did on the Longbottoms? No, nothing could have pried their location from Sirius' lips, Lana knew that. He was too loyal to James; he'd rather die, just like any of them would have-and some did. But Sirius was in Azkaban now, Lana couldn't just waltz in and ask him. But what if he had done it? Could he really have betrayed James and Lily like that? And what was to happen to their little son, Harry? Was he really to be raised by Lily's Muggle sister? Lana had to speak to Dumbledore. He was controlling what happened to Harry. Maybe he would tell her..._

_..._

_"I'm sorry, my dear, but I cannot tell you much." Professor Albus Dumbledore said, looking sadly at the distraught woman in front of him. Her dark, curly hair was a mess, and her sea-green eyes were wide. She looked like she hadn' t slept since she found out about her friends' deaths. Then again, she probably hadn't. She had requested an audience with him in his office a few days ago, and they'd set an appointment for two days later._

_"What can you tell me?" she asked, her voice desperate._

_Dumbledore chose his words carefully. Lana Maurder had always been a bit...unstable, and he was worried that too much information would set her off. He had heard she had a daughter now, born only a few months ago. For her sake, and for Lana's two older sons, Dumbledore had to keep information from Lana, even though she had been a good friend of the Potters since befriending Lily in their first year at Hogwarts._

_"You already know that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed them." he said slowly, gauging her reactions. "Harry is going to live with Lily's sister, Petunia, and her husband."_

_"You're sending him to live with _Muggles_?" _

_Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. We must make sure that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named cannot find Harry. It may not be the best situation, but Harry is safest there, for now. Rest assured, though, that he will attend Hogwarts. I will make sure of that."_

_Lana was silent for a minute, then two. "Alright." she finally said. "He is being taken care of?" Dumbledore nodded again. "And he will attend Hogwarts?" Another nod. "Will you tell him what happened?"_

_"In due time, he will learn the truth." _

_Lana ran her hands through her hair. Dumbledore put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This is hard for all of us, my dear. Remus is rather shaken up, though I'm sure you know that. I think that Severus could use a friend right now."_

_"Severus?" Lana asked, her eyes momentarily clearing. _

_"He cared for Lily, you of all people should know that. I suggest you talk to him. No one should be alone with their grief, and Severus will bear many burdens because of this."_

_Lana slowly nodded. "I'll send him an owl when I get a chance, see if maybe he wants to meet up. Severus is a good man, no matter what anyone else thinks, and he _did_ love Lily..."_

_"There's a girl." Dumbledore said, steering her gently towards the door. "Now why don't you go home? You have your children to take care of, though I'm sure you don't need me to remind you."_

_Lana nodded. She began to leave. As she reached the doorway, she suddenly turned and said, "You had better keep him safe." Dumbledore didn't have time to ask who she meant before she left. _

_That was the last time Albus Dumbledore would see Lana Maurder._

**Kat P.O.V.**

People bustled around the train station, rushing to make it on time. They were mostly all Muggles. Not that any wizarding family headed for platform 9 3/4 would make themselves known, though. The Maurders had perfected blending in.

Eleven-year-old Kat was about to start school at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she'd never been more excited in her life. Her two older brothers had told her of their adventures at school ever since they'd both first begun. Tyler, the eldest, was starting his fourth year. Nathaniel, the middle brother, was going into his third. Kat couldn't wait to go to the same school as her brothers and learn the things they had learned.

"Come on, kids, come on." Kat's mum called as she lead the way. She was kind of funny in that she never forced her children to walk alongside her; either they kept up or got lost, and if they were lost she would always find them immediately (Kat suspected she used magic to do that).

"You nervous for the Sorting, Kat?" Tyler asked, smiling down at his little sister. His chocolate brown hair was freshly cut and out of his dark blue eyes, also showing a small scar on his left eyebrow from where he'd once cut it on a table corner. He didn't yet have on his robes, packed safely away in his trunk, but he wore jeans and a brown long sleeved shirt.

"A little." Kat admitted shyly.

Nathaniel, overhearing, laughed. "Don't be." he said, brushing a stray lock of Kat's curly hair out of her eyes. "You're bound to be in either Gryffindor, like Dad, or Ravenclaw, like Mum, Tyler, and I." Nathaniel had the same eye and hair color as Tyler and Kat. Somehow none of the children really looked like their dad, but all took traits from their mum. Nate liked to keep his hair a bit longer than Tyler's.

"I kind of want to be in Ravenclaw so I can be with you guys."

"It won't be so bad if you're not." Tyler said. "You'll make loads of new friends."

Kat only nodded as she and her brothers ran to catch up to their mum. She had stopped a minute to wait for them. Her hair, as dark as her children's, though only Kat had received the curls, was pulled back into a low pony tail. There was a sparkle in her sea-green eyes that Kat loved to see. Since Dad was working, Mum had to bring the kids to the train station alone. Kat had been worried that today would be one of her bad days, but thankfully she was alright.

"Come on, you don't want to miss the train, do you?" Mum asked with a playful smile. Kat's new cat purred. She was black with grey eyes. Dad was superstitious and thought the cat was bad luck, but Mum had laughed and bought her anyways. Kat had named her Circe.

The family had reached the magic entryway to platform 9 3/4. Tyler gave Kat a smirk, grabbed his trolley, and ran through the barrier. Muggles of course noticed nothing when he disappeared. Next went Nate. When he was gone, Mum put a hand on Kat's shoulder. "Ready?" she asked. Kat nodded. "Want to go together?" Kat nodded again.

Mum stood behind Kat with her hands next to those of her daughter. "On three." she said. "One...two...three!" Mother and daughter took off running full speed at the wall. Normally running at a brick wall resulted in an injury of some sort, but the wall gave way as they crossed the barrier. They stood on the platform to board the Hogwarts Express.

People milled about, saying goodbye to their friends and loved ones, putting their luggage on the train. Nate was talking to two identical redheaded boys. He caught sight of his sister and beckoned her over.

"Guys, this is my little sister, Kat. She's starting her first year." he said, smiling wide. Kat smiled shyly at her brother's friends. "Kat, this is Fred and George Weasley, the funniest guys I know."

"Hey there." the ginger boy on the right said. "I'm Fred."

"And I'm George." His twin said.

Nate laughed. "They're trying to pull your leg, Kat. That's George and that's Fred."

A boy that looked like Nate's friends walked up then. "Hi," he said, "I'm Ron."

"And this is our lovely little brother." the twin on the right-George, Nate had said his name was-said.

Kat smiled. "I'm Kat."

"Are you a first-year too?" Ron asked. Kat nodded. Ron smiled. "Cool!"

A whistle blew somewhere. "We'd best go say goodbye to Mum before we leave." Nate said. "See you guys later."

Nate and Kat ran back to their mum, who was talking to the witch next to her. She caught sight of her children running towards her. "Come to say goodbye at last, huh?" She smiled and hugged them. "Your brother is already on the train. I'll write to you both. Be on your best behavior, don't slack off on your work, and I'll see you at break."

Nate hugged his mother once more, said goodbye, and ran to meet his friends on the train. Kat looked away from her mother so she wouldn't see the worried look on her daughter's face, but of course Mum noticed. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"What if I'm not in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?" Kat asked. To her surprise, Mum laughed.

"Kat, dear, is that what you're worried about? It doesn't matter to me or your father what house you're in. We just want you to have a good time and to do the best you possibly can. Now go on, you don't want to miss the train." Mum hugged Kat tight and gave her a kiss goodbye on the forehead.

Kat ran onto the train just in time. She found an empty compartment and opened the window as the train began to move. Her voice joined the chorus of goodbyes as she waved to her mother. Finally, when she couldn't see her anymore, she closed the window and sat down. It wasn't long before the door slid open, revealing a girl with frizzy brown hair. "Hello," she said, "I'm Hermoine Granger. Is anyone sitting in here with you?"

"No," Kat said, "but you're welcome to."

Hermoine smiled and entered the compartment, closing the door as she did. She sat across from Kat.

"I'm Kat Maurder." Kat carefully watched Hermoine's reaction to her last name. Some people thought her mum was crazy in the wizarding world; she didn't know if Hermoine would tease her.

"Nice to meet you." Hermoine said, smiling and sticking out her hand. Kat shook it, relieved.

"Who are your parents?" Kat asked.

"Oh, um...they're Muggles." Hermoine said softly.

Kat grinned, much to Hermoine's obvious surprise. "Really? My dad's parents are Muggles. So is my gran on my mum's side."

The two girls began talking, first about their families, then the houses they wanted to be in, then about anything they could think to say. It turned out they had a lot in common. When the train reached its stop, Hermoine said, "Want to ride the boat to the school with me?"

Thus Kat's first friend at Hogwarts was made.

...

All the first year's were directed to the Great Hall, where they would be sorted. Their names were called one by one, and with each new student the Sorting Hat would call out what House they belonged to. With each addition the current House members would cheer and welcome their new member. Hermoine was placed in Gryffindor.

As her name drew closer to being called, Kat began to fear what the other students would think of her. Would they call her crazy, like people whispered her mum was? Would they shun her? There was only one way to find out...

"Katrina Maurder." the lady reading names, Professor McGonagall, called out. A few heads turned to watch her walk up to the front of the hall. The small blonde boy who had just been called, Draco Malfoy, snickered as she sat down. She looked around until she found her brothers, both giving her thumbs up from their seats at Ravenclaw table.

The professor placed the hat on Kat's head. It startled her by _talking to her_. "Hmm..." it said. "Where to go, where to go...you could be great in Ravenclaw, you have a strong mind. But there is a valiant spot in you that you have yet to discover...where to go, where to go..."

Finally, out loud for the rest of the Hall to hear, the Sorting Hat announced, "Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table cheered as Kat went to join them, sitting next to Hermoine. Over at the Ravenclaw table, her brothers cheered as well. Their approval made Kat's disappointment a little less harsh.

"Harry Potter!" Professor McGonagall called. The room became dead silent. Then everyone began whispering.

A boy next to Hermoine, Seamus Finnigan, said, "Is it really him? The Boy Who Lived?"

"You bet it is." another first-year, Neville Longbottom, whispered.

The hat was quiet for a long time on Harry's head. Finally it cried, "Gryffindor!"

Everyone around Kat cheered and applauded as Harry joined the table. Kat didn't pay much attention to the rest of the sorting, except for Ron, the boy she met at the train station. He was sorted into Gryffindor as well. After dinner, the students all began to go to their rooms when Kat was stopped by two boys shouting her name. She turned to look back and immediately started cracking up. Her brothers were jumping up and down, congratulating her on being in their dad's house. She was swept into the crowd and lost sight of them, but felt better about being separated from her brothers.

The common room was breathtaking. Rugs covered the floors. Plushy armchairs filled every possible space. The room was painted in a deep red, and paintings covered the walls. Kat looked around in awe. Hands gripped Kat's shoulders and spun her around.

"Congrats on getting into Gryffindor!" Fred Weasley said, a huge gin on his face.

"Yeah, congrats! Your brothers are really proud of you." George said.

Kat smiled and blushed. "Thanks."

The two boys flashed her brilliant smiles before walking away. She was immediately pulled into a hug by Hermione. "We're in the same dorm!" her new friend exclaimed.

Kat laughed. "Good!"

"Alright, first-years, get to bed," an older student said. "After all, the first day of classes is always the worst."

Kat and Hermione ran up to their dormitory. When they arrived, they found there were a few girls sharing the room as well. They introduced themselves in turn. There was Lavender Brown, a girl with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes; Parvati Patil, a pretty Indian girl with long dark hair and big dark eyes; and Romilda Vane, a brown-eyed girl with curly brown hair, though her hair was far more tame than Kat's.

Parvati and Lavender seemed to have become quick friends, and Romilda had no interest in talking to anyone, so Hermione and Kat had more time to talk. Eventually they decided to go to sleep, since classes were to start bright and early the next day.

...

The next few weeks passed in a blur for Kat. Between classes and studying with Hermione, as well as making friends with Ron and Harry and spending time with her brothers, Kat hardly had time to take a breath. No one had commented on her mother; this was a wonderful surprise to Kat. Until one day in potions, a snake brought it down on her.

Professor Snape was giving a lesson on the Babbling Beverage. He asked a question about how it was made and Kat raised her hand. Immediately there was a snicker from the back of the room.

"Something funny, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Snape asked.

"Just the fact that you called on Crazy Kat to answer." Draco Malfoy replied with a smirk. Confused looks appeared on most of her classmates' faces, but Malfoy's friends snickered. Kat's stomach dropped.

Ron spoke up. "What are you going on about, Malfoy?"

"Didn't you all know? Kat's mum is crazy. My father told me insanity runs in the family."

The classroom erupted into whispers. "Come off it, Malfoy. Kat's mum isn't crazy, you're just a jerk." Ron said.

Draco opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by Professor Snape.

"Silence." Every noise in the room stopped. "Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley, I'll see you in detention this afternoon."

"Detention?!" Malfoy exclaimed. "Why am I getting detention? For pointing out that Kat's mum is a loon?"

"Ten points from Slytherin."

"Ten points?!"

Snape's eyes were slits. "If you do not wish to lose more points for your house, Mr. Malfoy, I suggest you stop talking."

No one spoke for the rest of the class. As soon as Potions ended, Kat ran back towards her common room. Someone called out her name from behind her, but she didn't stop. Finally she pulled off into an empty hallway and fell to the ground, burying her face in her hands.

_I won't cry,_ she thought, _I won't cry._

Her mantra failed. She crumbled into sobs. Suddenly she heard footsteps nearby. She silenced herself, but the footsteps grew closer and closer. Then they stopped in front of her.

"Are you alright?" a breezy voice said. Kat looked up. Kneeling next to her was a blonde girl with clear blue eyes. "My name's Luna."

"I'm Kat." Kat sniffed.

Luna sat down next to her. "For what it's worth, I don't think you're crazy. Everyone says that my dad's crazy and that I am too, but it doesn't bother me. They don't know me."

Kat smiled a little. "You don't seem crazy."

Luna giggled. "You either. You look like you could use a friend."

Kat shrugged. Luna smiled. "I'll be your friend, if you like."

Kat's smile widened. "I'd like that."

Thus Kat and Luna became friends.

**Well there's the first chapter! I'll bring more of the Sorcerer's Stone plot into it in the next chapter. Please rate and review (especially new ideas, I love those)! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two :) I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update after this chapter but I'll do what I can. Enjoy :)**

**Oh, also, I rarely will change P.O.V.s (since most of my story is from Kat's P.O.V.) but just for clarification I'll start every chapter out with whose P.O.V. it is. **

**Kat P.O.V.**

Kat was sitting in the common room, working on homework, when Ron approached her. "Kat!" he exclaimed. The girl jumped, then looked up.

"Ron." she said. Harry had followed close behind his best friend.

"I just wanted to say..." Ron began. Suddenly he seemed at a loss for words, noticing that everyone nearby was watching.

"Yes?" Kat said, prompting him to continue.

Ron swallowed. "Malfoy's a jerk. Don't let him get to you. I don't think you or anyone else in your family is crazy."

Kat smiled softly. "Thank you, Ron. I appreciate it."

Ron nodded, obviously embarrassed by all eyes in the room being on him. He quickly turned away, rejoining his friends.

"Way to go, bro." Kat heard one of the twins-Fred, maybe? She couldn't recognize them by voice-say to Ron as she turned back to her homework. She smiled. The Weasley boys could make the worst day worth it.

...

A few weeks passed without much incident until finally it was time to go home for Christmas. Hermione sat in on the train with Kat, like they had when they first went to Hogwarts. While they talked, Kat noticed Hermione seemed distracted.

"What is it, Hermione?" Kat asked. "You've been distracted the whole ride."

Hermione looked out the window. "You can keep a secret?"

Kat nodded. "You know I can."

Hermione told Kat the whole story about the Sorcerer's Stone and everything that had happened between her, Ron, and Harry since the incident with the troll in the bathroom. When she finished, she was breathless, waiting for Kat's response.

"Well?" she finally asked when Kat said nothing.

Kat, surprising Hermione, grinned. "Who knew you three had adventures like that?"

First Hermione was speechless. Then she began to laugh. The two girls laughed all the way back to the station.

When the train stopped at platform 9 3/4, Hermione gave Kat a quick goodbye before running to her parents. Kat stood in the midst of all the people, looking for her brothers. Tyler grabbed hold of her left hand, then Nate grabbed her right. She looked up at them. They were smiling.

"Ready to go home, sis?" Nate asked.

Kat nodded, smiling at her brother. Just then she caught sight of a bright pink skirt and dark, wickedly curly hair. Kat smiled, relief dawning upon her. She hadn't realized she'd been worried until that moment. Hand in hand, the three siblings ran to their mum.

"Hello, my darlings, oh I missed you!" she cried as they ran into her open arms. "How is school? How are your friends?"

All three began talking to their mum at once, excitedly detailing every interesting aspect of their lives at school. Their mum laughed. "One at a time, one at a time! Keep some of your stories for dad to hear too."

"Where is Dad, anyways?" Tyler asked.

Mum's smile faded a bit. "He's working." Seeing the disappointment in her children's eyes, Mum said, "Don't look so down. He's only working today so he can be home for Christmas."

This brought smiles to Kat, Tyler, and Nate's faces. Mum smiled back. Kat loved it when she smiled; her eyes were clear and she looked happier than at any other time.

"Let's head back home, shall we?" Mum said, standing.

Kat and Tyler shared a look with each other, a look that clearly said one thing: _I'm glad Mum is okay today_.

...

Kat had missed home. She lived in a lovely cottage, far away from any Muggles or other wizarding families. It was always quiet, and at night Kat loved hearing the crickets chirping incessantly. The house was one-level, but very big and open (Kat suspected magic had something to do with the large interior but average exterior). The floors were all dark hardwood, the walls were painted a comforting light brown. A huge Christmas tree sat in the front room, covered in candles that didn't burn the pine needles and popcorn strings. Kat was comforted by her home, but also a little unsettled by it.

Christmas was lovely. Mum and Dad woke earlier than their children, put on music, and made breakfast. Once breakfast was finished, presents were opened. Mum cast lovely enchantments throughout the day, much to Kat's delight. Dad grabbed her by the waist and started dancing with her. Everyone was laughing and smiling. The family was happy.

Then night fell. Kat had been in bed roughly an hour when Mum started screaming. She ran into Nate's room; he was pulling on a robe. He looked half afraid, half worried, but he hadn't yet noticed Kat.

"Nate?" Kat asked in a very small voice, trying to get his attention.

He looked to the door. "Come on, Kat. Let's go get Tyler."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hallway towards their brother's room. Their mother was shrieking so loud Kat could hardly hear her father speaking gently. Tyler was waiting for them at his door, holding a candle, a few pillows, and some blankets. Nate grabbed hold of the pillows and Kat took the blankets. Tyler led the way to the end of the hallway, which felt smaller with Mum's shrieks in the background. He opened a hatch in the ceiling; a ladder fell down, leading to the attic. One by one they climbed the three stairs up to their hiding place. While Tyler shut the door, sealing them in, Kat and Nate made a large bed on the floor. Dad kept the attic clean for Mum's spells.

Kat was nestled in between her brothers, staring at the flame from the candle. "Is Mum crazy?" she whispered finally.

Nate rolled on his side and faced her. "No, sis. She's not."

"She just has spells sometimes where she gets...confused." Tyler added.

None of the siblings said any more. Nate drifted off to sleep first, with Tyler following soon after. Kat lay in the semi-darkness, watching the flickering flame. _Maybe Malfoy's right..._ Kat thought as her eyelids fell closed. She dreamed of nothing that night, except her mum's screams.

...

After Mum's spell, she stayed in her room, refusing to come out. Dad said she was recovering and that she'd like to see Kat and her brothers before they left for school, but Kat wouldn't go. She wouldn't admit it, but she was afraid. Afraid that Malfoy and his friends were right, that Mum was crazy. That _she_ was crazy, or would be someday. Finally the day came to go back to school.

"How was your break?" Hermione asked on the train ride.

"Fine." Kat said. She couldn't tell Hermione about her mum. What would she think? Instead Kat buried her secret deep inside herself. "Yours?"

"Oh it was lovely. All my family came and Mum made pudding..." Hermione detailed her break and Kat listened, laughing in all the right places. She was glad that at least one of them had a good time.

"I wonder how Ron and Harry's breaks were?" Hermione wondered aloud at the end of her story.

Kat shrugged, looking out the window. Hermione didn't seem to notice her friend's down mood, but Kat didn't want her to. Finally they reached the school.

Luna pulled Kat out of the crowd as soon as she caught sight of her. "How was your break?" she asked.

"It was okay." Kat said. Luna gave her a knowing look, and she sighed. "It was okay until Mum went into one of her spells. We sleep in the attic when that happens, you know, because once when I was a baby she took me and my brothers out in the front yard during one of her spells. It was raining and she didn't know what to do, just left us there while she ran around in the yard. Dad came home and brought us inside, then Mum. So we hide in the attic now while Dad calms her down. Dad comes and gets us when she's okay, normally she rests in her room for a few days afterwards." The whole story came pouring out of Kat: all the incidents with Mum, all the things people said. Kat was very grateful that Luna had thought to pull her into a quiet corridor.

When she'd told Luna everything, both girls were quiet. Kat felt empty but somehow relieved, as if telling someone the family secret she harbored had been what she needed to do all along. She knew Luna would understand. Luna pulled Kat into a hug. "Everyone says my mum was crazy." Luna said softly. "She was a brilliant witch, but she liked to experiment. One day her experiment went wrong. She died."

"I'm sorry." Kat said.

"It's alright. Everyone thinks my dad is crazy too, because of his newspapers. But I don't think so." Luna pulled back from Kat to face her. "It doesn't matter what people say or think. They won't believe you no matter what you do or say. What matters is that you have at least one person to talk to, and what you believe. Do you believe your mum is crazy?" Luna asked.

Kat shook her head. "No."

"Then she's not."

Kat smiled. Luna would never know how grateful she was to have a friend that could truly understand, someone she could trust.

...

Kat's first year at Hogwarts flew by. She spent time with Luna and her brothers, made friends with Seamus and Dean, grew closer to Ron, Harry, and Hermione. She watched the trio's adventures from afar, rejoicing when they were alright after the fiasco with Professor Quirrel, but for some reason it made Kat feel small and unhelpful. She considered herself friends with them, but still.

Kat was planning on riding the train with Luna and her brothers. As she was boarding she heard someone calling her name. She turned. Ron was flagging her down. The two met halfway.

"You want to ride with us?" he asked, gesturing to the compartment he was sharing with Hermione and Harry. "We haven't been able to hang out much since the whole Socerer's Stone thing."

Kat smiled. "Sure. But Luna and my brothers..." She turned to look back.

"Go on, Kat." Luna said, gesturing for her to ride with her other friends. "You've hardly spent any time with them since Christmas break. Besides, I'm coming to your house in a couple weeks, remember?"

Kat smiled at Luna. "Alright. I'll see you at the station."

She followed Ron into his compartment. Harry and Hermione were happy to see her. The four talked and laughed the whole way home. Kat couldn't help but feel bad that she hadn't hardly helped them at all with their adventures. Little did she know she would play a much larger role in their coming years.

**That's the end of chapter two :) I didn't plan for Year One to be more than one or two chapters, but Year Two will be much more interesting and hopefully longer. Sorry that it's so short, I was just kind of uninspired for Year One. I'll update when I can :)**

**Please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**No P.O.V.**

Summer was supposed to be a free time, a wonderland for children on holiday from school. Muggles called it "magical" and "free", but for the children of the wizarding world it was a time when they so desperately wanted to use the power they were forbidden to use. Even so, they did their best to enjoy the free months.

All summer owls flew in and out of the Maurder household, carrying letters mostly to and from Tyler, Nate, and Kat. Their parents would smile and shake their heads as yet another letter arrived for one of their children. But occasionally there would come a large black owl, always carrying the same thing: a letter written on ash grey parchment with a seal pressed onto blood red wax. Those letters the children knew not to touch. Somehow their mum was always in the kitchen when the owl arrived at the back door, where all the messenger owls delivered their letters. She would hastily grab the letter, pocket it, and rush into her bedroom. The owl would always wait perched on the ledge by the back door, sometimes for hours, for Lana to return and send it on its way with a new letter. Her husband was never home when the owl came or left.

"Mum, whose owl is that?" Tyler asked one night after watching the owl fly away.

"Hmm? What owl?" Lana asked, distracted by her cooking.

"The great big black one that brings you letters."

Lana looked up quickly at her son. She wanted to snap, but saw only honest curiosity in his eyes. _I can't tell him the truth_, Lana decided. _He's still too young._ So she settled for a lie. "An old friend from school, darling. But don't tell your father; he never cared for some of my friends, he wouldn't be happy that I still talk to her."

"What's her name?"

_Another question he's too young for_, Lana thought. She chose another lie, more of a half-truth really. "Bella."

"And Dad doesn't like her?" Tyler asked just as his sister walked in.

"Dad doesn't like who?" she asked, looking between her brother and her mum.

"No one." Lana said definitively, looking at Tyler as she spoke. "Just a secret between your brother and I."

Tyler's eyes showed that he understood: don't speak of the owl, or 'Bella', to anyone, not even his siblings or father.

"No fair," Kat whined, "Dad always says secrets aren't allowed."

"Oh my darling, if there's one thing you'll learn it's that the world is full of secrets. It's built on them in fact." Lana said, turning back to her cooking.

There was another thing that made Lana Maurder different from other parents. She didn't let her children live in a fantasy world simply because they were children. When they were old enough to ask questions and understand the real answer, she would tell them. What they did with the information was their business. She wasn't going to set her kids up to be let down when they got out into the world.

Tyler took his sister into another room to play while Lana went on preparing dinner. When her husband got home she kissed him on the cheek and asked how his day was, as she always did. The family of five sat down for dinner together and talked like they always did. But during the meal, as Nate babbled on about a toad he'd found, Lana glanced at Tyler to find his eyes locked on her. The look that passed between them said one thing: this will stay between us.

The rest of the summer passed in a wonderful haze, full of late-night adventures and daytime delights. Letters were written, friends visited, and all too soon, but also not soon enough, it was time to buy books for school again.

Tyler didn't see the black owl again.

**Kat P.O.V.**

Twelve-year-old Kat stood alone on platform 9 ¾, waiting for someone she knew to come find her. She didn't care who it was—it could've been Mr. Olivander, the nice man who sold her wand to her the previous year for all she cared, so long as she wasn't alone. Dad was working again and Mum was getting over one of her spells, so the children had to come alone this year. Not that Kat really minded, but she didn't like being alone when surrounded by so many people. Her brothers had asked if she'd be able to find her friends and she'd assured them that yes, she'd be fine, before they'd run off. No one paid any attention to the little girl with the crazy hair standing alone until…

"Kat! I've missed you!" Arms encircled her in a hug. Kat recognized the voice (and thick brown hair) as that of Hermione.

"Hermione! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Kat exclaimed, but there was a smile on her face.

"Sorry." Hermione said. "Ready to get back to school? I know I am."

"Yeah, me too." Kat said as the two girls boarded the train.

Hermione couldn't help but notice her friend looked more than a little unhappy. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." Kat replied. "I just…" _I can't tell her about Mum_, Kat thought. Quickly, she invented a lie. "I just wish my dad hadn't been working today so he could have seen me off."

"I see." Hermione said. It was clear that both knew Kat was lying, but thankfully Hermione didn't push it. The door to the compartment slid open, revealing a pretty young girl with long ginger hair and freckles. She resembled the Weasleys a bit.

"Oh, hello." The girl said. "I'm sorry, I thought it was empty."

"It's alright, come on and sit with us." Hermione said. "I'm Hermione Granger. You look like you could be Ron's sister."

"That's because I am." The girl said, sitting next to Kat. "My name's Ginny. Ron told me all about his friends over the summer. He said that he, Harry, and you, Hermione, had some real adventures together." Ginny looked at Kat. "You must be Kat, right? Ron said he never would've passed Potions without you."

Kat smiled a little bit. "Are you the only girl?"

"Yes, and the youngest too. There's Bill, then Charlie, then Percy, then Fred and George, then Ron, and then me."

"Wow. I thought it was rough with my two older brothers." Kat said.

"Oh, your brother is Nate, right? Fred and George talk about him a lot." Ginny looked to Hermione. "Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I'm an only child."

Suddenly Kat realized two people were missing: Ron and Harry. "Um, where are Ron and Harry?"

"I don't know. Ron wasn't with us when I got here." Ginny said.

"What happens if they miss the train?" Hermione asked.

Kat bit her lip. "They'd better find a way to school."

The train pulled out of the station. While all three girls were thinking about the missing boys, they decided not to dwell too much on it and instead spent the ride talking. Finally they arrived at the school. Kat and Hermione said goodbye to Ginny, who had to take the boats, and boarded the magically-drawn cart, along with the other students who weren't first-years.

"Hopefully they show up soon." Kat said, looking up at the night sky.

"Hello, Kat, hello, Hermione." A slightly familiar boy's voice said. Seamus Finnigan stood with Dean Thomas next to the cart.

"Hi Dean, hi Seamus." Kat said with a smile. Dean and Seamus were in her year, and they'd always been nice to her. Plus Seamus was kind of cute, and his accent only added to it.

"Mind if we ride with you? The other carts are filling up." Dean asked, hands in the pockets of his robes.

Hermione motioned for them to join them. "Not at all."

The two boys climbed into the cart and sat next to the girls, Seamus next to Kat, Dean next to Hermione. "Where are Harry and Ron?" Dean asked, noticing the absence of the boys Kat and Hermione normally could be found with.

Hermione and Kat exchanged glances. "We aren't really sure." Kat finally said. "They weren't on the train with us."

"That's strange." Seamus said, his brow crinkling.

The cart suddenly pulled forward, towards the school, and the group began to talk about their summers. Kat found Seamus easy to talk to, and his laugh inviting. She couldn't help but smile at his excited descriptions of his summer.

"We're here." Dean said after a few minutes.

Seamus and Dean got out of the cart first, then turned to assist Hermione and Kat. Along with the rest of the students, they made their way to the Great Hall and sat at their respective House tables for the Sorting. Ron and Harry were still nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Kat," Neville Longbottom whispered, "where's Harry? And Ron?" Kat just shrugged by means of replying.

The Sorting began. Kat didn't really care about anyone in the group, since she didn't know anyone, but cheered for each new Gryffindor. The only student she really cared about was Ginny.

"Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat yelled after being placed atop her ginger head.

Ginny smiled shyly and quickly walked to sit with the rest of her new House as they cheered for her. "Congratulations, Ginny!" Kat called to her over all the noise. Ginny smiled at her, a real smile, not a you're-in-this-House-and-you're-congratulating-me- and-I-don't-know-you-so-I-don't-care smile. Kat liked her already.

The feast that night was stupendous. Kat's brothers made faces at her through most of the Sorting, and she laughed, and they laughed. George Weasley noticed Kat making faces and turned behind him to see who she was looking at. Kat noticed him looking between her and Nate and Tyler and ducked her head, embarrassed. "Don't stop on my account." George said. "It's quite fun to watch you three interact."

Fred popped into the conversation by thwacking George on the arm. "Leave her alone. Can't you see she's trying to outdo her brothers by making the best weird face?"

Kat laughed at the twins and shook her head before returning her attention to her meal. Nate had begun talking to a pretty witch next to him, and Tyler was wildly describing some event from summer, throwing his hands in the air and widening his eyes.

Suddenly Kat heard a noise. It was quiet, so soft that no one else seemed to notice it. She focused her attention on it, blocking everything else out. Someone was whispering, but she couldn't make out what. It sounded strange, like a language she didn't understand, but the whispering was getting louder and harsher and louder and harsher until—

"Kat!" Hermione exclaimed, waving a hand in front of Kat's face. "Are you alright? You just completely zoned out."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kat said, smiling. "Sorry. I guess I'm just tired."

Kat chose not to mention what she'd heard, mainly because no one else seemed to have heard it. If there was one thing Kat had learned in her life, it was to never seem too out of the ordinary, even for a witch. Because the minute you seemed too strange, you were branded as crazy.

After the Sorting and the feast, every student in the Great Hall made their way to their common rooms. The Fat Lady gave Percy Weasley, the fifth-year prefect and older brother of Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny, a hell of a time before finally allowing him in.

Just as Kat began to cross the threshold into the common room, she felt someone slide into step beside her. She turned her head and saw Ron's bright smile.

"Ron!" she exclaimed. "Where were you? Where's Harry?"

"Right here." Harry said from her other side, smiling.

"We got a little caught up in the Whomping Willow outside." Ron whispered.

"What?!" Kat exclaimed. "Are you hurt?"

"Nah, we're fine. Ran into McGonagall on our way in, though, that was a little awkward." Harry said.

"Where's Ginny?" Ron asked, looking around. "McGonagall told us she made Gryffindor."

Kat smiled. "She did. She's already gone up to her dormitory."

"Alright then. We'd better find Hermione and tell her we're here."

Harry and Ron went off to find Hermione in the crowd of Gryffindors. Kat, shaking her head after them, sat on a plush couch, more of a loveseat really, and began to watch the burning fire. It was amazing, really, how mesmerizing fire could be. With every pop and crackle it pulled her in more and more, captivating her, until she felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped.

"It's just me." Seamus said with a smile. "Mind if I sit with you?"

"No, go ahead."

Seamus sat, and suddenly Kat was made very aware of just how small the seat was when there were two people on it. "Funny, isn't it?" Seamus said, making conversation. "You'd think they'd have bigger couches, what with the school being enchanted and all."

Kat smiled. "I wonder why it's so small."

"Dunno. All I know is I'm not looking forward to Potions."

"Why not?" Kat asked.

"Snape's so weird. He hates everyone, except for kids in Slytherin."

"I like Potions." Kat said. "Whether Snape's a jerk or not, Potions is an interesting class."

Seamus looked at Kat for a long minute. "You're an academic type, aren't you? Why weren't you put into Ravenclaw?"

"I'm not sure." Kat honestly replied. "The Sorting Hat seriously considered it, but for some reason changed its mind."

Before Seamus and Kat could converse further, Hermione approached. "Come on, Kat, we should get to bed. Classes start early tomorrow."

Kat jumped up off the couch. As she followed Hermione upstairs, she turned back to Seamus and gave a small wave goodbye. He smiled at her.

"Seamus seemed rather interested in talking to you." Hermione said coyly.

Kat gave her friend a knowing look. "What are you getting at?"

"Do you like him?" Hermione excitedly asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't think so. I mean, he's cute, but I don't know that I'm interested."

Both girls looked each other hard in the eye before they busted out laughing. "Oh, Kat," Hermione said in between giggles, "I missed you."

…..

The first day of classes began exceptionally well, because Kat had Potions first. Granted, Professor Snape looked at her strangely every time he made eye contact with her, and Draco Malfoy was in there, but Kat was good at potions. She loved them, in fact. After Potions was Herbology, which wasn't her best subject by far, but Madame Sprout was a likeable woman, and that made the class better. Then was Charms, which rivaled Potions for one of Kat's favorite classes. Not only was mastering charms essential to performing magic, it was a much more relaxed class than anything else. Professor Flitwick let the students talk amongst themselves. Rounding out her first day of her second year was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. As soon as Kat stepped foot in the classroom, she knew she was going to learn nothing in the coming year.

After the Professor's flamboyant entrance, he proved himself even more of an idiot by talking about nothing but…himself. All of the required reading material was about himself. It took all of Kat's willpower to resist the urge to slam her head repeatedly against the table every time he opened his mouth.

After the class ended, Kat broke free from Hermione and the group of giggling dolts she was with, all so stuck on how cute Professor Lockhart was. Instead, she decided to go find Luna. _I haven't seen her yet_, Kat thought. As she walked, she was stopped by a dark cloud, also known as Professor Snape.

"And where might you be going, Miss Maurder?" he asked, peering down at her with beady eyes, his voice cold.

"To find Luna, sir. Luna Lovegood." Kat explained.

"Hmm." Snape said. He seemed to be thinking about asking something, but decided against it. "Carry on." And then he was off down the hallway.

Kat shook off the strange event. She was just about to start off again when she heard it. The whispering. She couldn't quite make out what it was saying, but she could almost sense that whatever it was wanted her to follow it. Against her better judgment, she turned down an empty corridor. The whispering propelled her forward, getting more forceful with each step. It led her to an empty bathroom.

"Hello?" Kat called. "Anyone here?"

From one of the stalls, a ghost of a girl floated up. "Who are you?" the ghost asked. Her hair was in braids and she wore thick glasses, along with a Hogwarts uniform.

"I'm Kat. Who are you?"

"Myrtle. _Moaning Myrtle_, they called me. But I wouldn't expect you to care." The ghost wailed as she plunged into a toilet and was gone.

_Well that was rather odd_, Kat thought to herself. It was quiet. Just as she turned to leave, the harsh whispering resumed. It was almost hypnotic, how it pulled her to one of the sinks. The whispering got louder and louder, words she didn't understand crashing around in her head, the room began spinning and spinning and the words kept coming and she didn't understand them and she was going to fall or throw up because everything was spinning and god would it stop why wouldn't it stop and then it was over. She braced herself on the sink while the room stopped spinning and her brain caught up. The whispering was gone.

"Oh god," she whispered shakily to herself. She could see her eyes in the mirror, huge and filled with fear. "What if I am crazy?"

_No_, she thought firmly. _No. You're not. It's the fear of being insane that tells you you're not_. She took a huge breath before she left the bathroom. As she walked down the still-empty hallway, Kat couldn't help but wonder why the whispering had led her there.

**There's the third chapter! Finally, I know. I'm sorry, I'm like the worst updater ever! But it takes a lot of research to make sure I have my facts straight for my readers **** Please rate and review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Kat P.O.V.**

Though the incident in the bathroom had shaken her up, Kat hid her growing fear of insanity under endless studying. Hermione and Luna alternated studying with her. Whenever anyone asked why she was always doing homework or reading a textbook, she said she just wanted to get ahead, but really she just needed to distract herself from the whispers. She heard them at night sometimes, calling to her in her sleep. Each time she would awaken drenched in a cold sweat, clutching onto her pillow and sheets as if her life depended on it. She could never figure out what the whispers were saying, which was the most terrifying part. All she knew was that something was going to happen, soon.

She was studying alone under a tree in between classes when Tyler sat down next to her. From the serious expression he wore, Kat knew whatever he had to tell her wouldn't be good. "I got a post from Dad this morning." He said, keeping his voice low so that no one around would hear. Immediately Kat's stomach dropped. "Mum had one of her fits again last night."

"That's two within the past few weeks." Kat whispered. "She never has them that often."

"He says she was cooking and started screaming about seeing a woman outside the window, smiling at her, but when Dad got there no one was there. No one was in the yard either."

Kat bit her lip, vaguely noting that she had somehow picked up the habit whenever she was worried or nervous. "Is she alright?"

Tyler nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. Dad put her to bed and she woke up feeling a lot better today, so he wrote me the post. I already told Nate."

"Alright. I've gotta go to class." Kat said, standing up.

Tyler grimaced. "Don't remind me. I've just come from Lockhart's."

"God, he's an idiot." Kat groaned. "I learned more about Defense Against the Dark Arts from the stories Mum read us when we were little than I am from him."

Tyler grinned. "At least Gryffindor got a smart one." He ruffled her hair before saying he'd find her later, and then they were off, going their separate ways.

On the way to her final class of the day, History of Magic, Kat nearly ran right into none other than Draco Malfoy. He scoffed at her, as if her very presence was enough to disgust him. "Look everyone, it's Crazy Kat."

His group of friends laughed at her, at that damned nickname. Tears stung in Kat's eyes as she rushed past them, determined to make it to class without letting a single tear fall. Somehow, unbeknownst to her, she did. Unfortunately, learning about the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards with Professor Binns droning on and on was not the best way to take her mind off of things. So Kat decided to draw pictures on her parchment to pass the time.

"What a riveting topic!" Hermoine exclaimed as the two exited class, meeting up with Ron and Harry, both wiping sleep from their eyes.

"The only thing that's riveting is how hungry I am." Ron said, earning himself a look from Hermione.

Kat smiled. "Come on, let's go get some food."

Dinner was magnificent that night, seeing as it was Halloween. The food that kept appearing was perfectly cooked, and it seemed that anything you could possibly want to eat was there, including seasonal pies and a load of pumpkin dishes. Hermione whispered to Kat that she, Ron, and Harry were going to go back to their common room. Kat nodded and began to listen to a conversation between Dean and Seamus about the possible side effects of attempting to blow up a twenty-pound turkey. Dinner ended and the students began to trickle out to their common rooms, but suddenly everyone was moving in one direction. There was some sort of commotion up ahead. Kat pushed through the crowd until she could see what was going on.

She gasped. Standing in the middle of the hall with all eyes on them were Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She turned her attention to the wall that everyone was staring at, reading along as Draco read aloud, "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir…beware." Turning to Harry, he said, "What does that mean?"

Whispering broke out, spreading through the students like the plague. Hermione's eyes met Kat's just as Filch burst through the crowd. "What are you three—" he began to yell, but then his eyes found his beloved cat, Mrs. Norris, hung from her tail, and his usual hatred of the students turned into a murderous rage as he said, in a falsely calm voice, "You killed my cat."

"No, sir, we didn't, we just found her—" Hermione tried to say, but Filch wouldn't have it.

"You killed my cat!" he yelled, about to charge for the trio when he was stopped by the appearance of Professor McGonagall.

"What is going on here?" she asked. As her eyes fell upon the scene, and the writing on the wall, she paled.

"They killed my cat!" Filch cried, his rage subsiding, leaving him nothing more than a lonely man whose beloved pet was dead, strung up on the wall.

"She's not dead." Madame Pomfrey said after inspecting the cat. "She's been petrified."

The students erupted into whispers yet again, silenced when Professor McGonagall said, "Students, return to your rooms immediately. You three," she said to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, "stay here."

Students mumbled and groaned at having to miss anything interesting, but were led to their common rooms by their prefects. Percy herded everyone along, shouting for them to keep in line and keep moving. "I wonder what that means, what was written on the wall." Kat overheard Seamus saying to Dean.

"Well whatever it is, it certainly can't be good." His friend replied, and Seamus nodded.

Kat didn't know what was going on, but she knew it wouldn't be good. And she also knew that though Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be off exploring and figuring out what was going on, they would keep everything to themselves to as to not involve anyone else. She couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of that, the fact that they were off adventuring, leaving everyone else behind. It wasn't really fair to them for her to feel that way, seeing as they hadn't done anything to deserve it, not really. As she entered the common room, Kat sighed. She was getting used to being the odd one out, and she didn't exactly like it.

…

As she had predicted, Hermione, Ron, and Harry had been keeping to themselves a lot. Tired of being left out, Kat decided to find out for herself what was going on, since she figured Hermione was probably the only information-finder anyways. Navigating the library to find something on the Chamber of Secrets wasn't really as hard as one would assume, and she quickly discovered that Salazar Slytherin had built the place, but that only his heir would find it. _That wasn't really so hard_, Kat thought to herself, sliding the dingy book from which she'd found the information back into its place on the shelf. Noticing how empty the library had become, she realized it was probably close to time for the Quidditch match to begin.

Kat had mentioned the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin a few times, but had never received a straight answer on if Hermione and Ron would go with her or not. This in mind Kat didn't feel too bad when she went with Luna without telling Hermione.

The two girls sat in the stands, bundled up in their coats and scarves of their house colors to fight off the cold. The match kept their interest, but they found themselves discussing a number of other things when suddenly someone yelled, "What's going on with that bludger?"

Kat looked up. Harry was being chased around the arena by a bludger that apparently had it out for him.

"How strange." Luna said. "I've never seen a bludger act like that before."

"Neither have I." Kat continued to watch helplessly until Harry dove for the snitch, jumping off of his broomstick in the process, the bludger continuing to go after him. "Harry!" Kat exclaimed, jumping up onto her feet.

He landed on the ground with a loud thud and cried out, holding onto one of his arms. The bludger, apparently not satisfied, kept going at him until Fred and George managed to shove it back into the box. Professor Lockhart strode to the boy, as if he could be of any use, and Kat groaned loudly. "What in the world is _that_ nitwit going to attempt to do?"

"Whatever it is, it'll do more harm than good." Luna said in her airy voice. "They're probably taking him to the hospital wing right now."

"I'll go see him later, when everyone else is gone." Kat decided.

"Later" ended up being a few hours afterwards, when Ron and Hermione were off doing something or other and Harry was finally alone. Which was perfect because Kat didn't really want to feel like they all knew something she didn't. Harry was lying on a bed, visibly in a lot of pain. No one else was around.

"Hi, Harry." Kat said so as to not startle him.

"Hey, Kat." Harry smiled weakly before his face distorted into one of pure agony.

"What happened?" Kat asked, sitting lightly on the edge of his bed.

"My arm got broken, and then Lockhart tried to fix it but ended up somehow removing the bones from it. Madame Pomfrey has me drinking this bloody disgusting juice to regrow the bones; it hurts."

Kat smiled sympathetically. "I imagine it does."

The two chatted for a bit before Kat stood. "I have to finish up some work for Potions, I just came by to see how you were."

"Thanks for coming." Harry said.

Kat smiled. "Oh," she said, turning back to Harry, "I don't think Draco is the heir, since I know that's what you three are probably guessing. They may be hateful twats, but the Malfoys aren't descendants of Slytherin."

As Harry's mouth fell open in shock, Kat waved goodbye and left. She hadn't realized up until then how wonderful it could feel to shock him by knowing something she was sure he assumed that only he, Ron, and Hermione knew. As she walked to the common room, Kat couldn't help but think it was slightly sad how easy to read they were, blaming everything on Draco. Yes, he was an ass, and yes, he hated muggleborns, but if you grew up only knowing to hate someone that's what you were going to do. Kat couldn't help but think that the trio would be much better off if they'd leave their personal prejudices out of their sleuthing.

_Poor Harry,_ she thought with a small smile. _I probably gave him a minor heart attack or something_.

Fulfilling as that was, she wasn't going to tell anyone else what she'd said, and aside from Ron and Hermione Kat doubted Harry would either.

…

Some poor first year had been petrified, like Mrs. Norris had been. The news had spread through the school at breakneck pace. Something was clearly going on, and whatever it was it was bad. Half of the students were terrified that they would be next, and had begun traveling in pairs or groups. No one felt safe. If it could happen to Colin Creevey, who else could fall? So, with the recent fear and the petrified boy in mind, Kat nearly fell out of her seat the next day in Defense Against the Dark Arts when Lockhart announced that he would be starting a dueling club.

"Excuse me, sir," Kat spoke up, hoping that she'd heard the sorry excuse for a teacher wrong, "But did you just say that you're going to be starting a dueling club?"

"That's right, Miss…Miss…" he said, searching for her name.

Kat rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her annoyance. They'd been in school for months now and he still didn't know his students' names. "Maurder. Kat Maurder."

"Ah, yes, Miss Maurder. Yes, I will be starting a dueling club. All are welcome."

Kat didn't even bother to listen to the rest of the lesson, since it was mainly him talking about how great he was. After the torturous class was over she was pulled aside by Hermione. "Come with me." She said. "I need to talk to you."

Hermione led her to a quieter area where Ron and Harry were waiting. "Harry told us about what you said." Hermione began. "How did you know about Salazar Slytherin? And what makes you think Draco isn't the heir?"

"I went to the library and looked until I found a book on the beginning of Hogwarts, including all of the legends, which the Chamber was listed under. It said that Salazar Slytherin supposedly built a chamber into the school, but that no one had ever found it. And as for the Draco part, think about it. All of those ancient families died out because of interbreeding a long time ago. The Malfoys couldn't be descendents." Kat stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Hermione blinked. Apparently none of the three knew what to say. Thankfully, before the situation got any more awkward, Kat heard Nate calling her name. He was waving, trying to get her attention. "Sorry, but that's my brother calling for me." Kat said, turning to go.

"Wait!" Ron spoke up. "Why did you go looking for information anyways?"

For some reason this question irritated Kat. "Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe you three aren't the only ones in the entire school who want to know what's going on?" No answer. "Since I'm sure you're going, I'll see you at Lockhart's dueling club tonight." Briskly, she left.

Nate greeted her with a cocky smile. "Hey there, little sis. Why do you look so angry?"

"Because people are twats and I've just come from Lockhart's class." Kat said.

Nate laughed. "That's my hot-tempered sister. Anyways, I've got a question." He bent his head down so that he could whisper in her ear. "Do you think there's anyone that Tyler fancies?"

Kat couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Tyler? Not that I know of. Why?"

"There's a girl that fancies him and I want to set them up."

"Oh, so now you're a matchmaker?" Kat asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's the girl?"

"Her name is Rachelle Drelmey. She's had her eye on him for a while but she's too shy to say anything. She's also in Hufflepuff, so I'm not sure that you know her. She's really pretty though, she has red hair and freckles and brown eyes."

"And why are you so set on getting our lovely brother with this girl?"

Nate sighed. "Tyler's too dense to see when a girl really likes him. It's sad, really. Rachelle is a really nice girl, and it would be a shame for him to miss out on actually having a girlfriend." At Kat's disbelieving glance, Nate added, "And her friend is really hot and I have my eye on her. But mostly because Rachelle likes him. And I need you to talk to him because if I asked him he'd think I was just doing it for her friend."

"Which you sort of are." Kat pointed out. "Well, at least you're honest. Fine, I'll talk to him. But," she said when Nate broke into a grin, "You owe me. And I can cash it in whenever I want."

"Alright, alright. Fine." Nate picked his sister up in the spur of the moment and hugged her. "Thanks, sis!" And then he was tearing off down the hallway.

Kat smiled as she watched him go. She loved her brothers more than anything, but god they could be frustrating. _I suppose I should go find Tyler, _Kat thought after Nate had vanished from sight. _But he'll have to wait until after Lockhart's dueling club._

A few hours later, Kat stood in a crowd of students surrounding a raised platform. Lockhart finally showed up, late to his own club. _Probably to get people interested_, Kat thought with an eye roll.

"Now, who should we have go first?" His eyes searched the crowd. "Ah, Mister Potter! Come on up here!"

Kat watched as Harry slowly made his way up to stand on the stage, at end near Kat. "Now," Lockhart said, "who will duel young Harry here?"

From the corner of her eye, Kat saw Professor Snape nearly toss Malfoy onto the opposite end of the stage. She raised an eyebrow. A duel between Harry and Malfoy? Now _that_ was something to see.

The two boys stared each other down. "Wands at the ready!" Lockhart shouted, visibly pleased at his splendid idea. "On the count of three, cast your disarming charm—_only _a disarming charm. One…"

Their wands were raised.

"Two…"

They looked each other in the eye.

"Three!"

Spells flew. Draco was knocked off of his feet. Snape stomped over, picked him up, and threw him back into the duel. Before Harry could think, Draco, in what looked to be a desperate move, shouted, "Serpensortia!"

A snake flew from the end of his wand. Everyone froze. It hissed and began to slither around, finally choosing to land its eyes on some poor student that Kat couldn't see. Its hood fanned out as it hissed.

"Don't move, I'll handle it." Snape said, beginning to draw his wand. But he was stopped when Harry began to speak in a series of hisses and strange noises. With a start Kat realized it was Parseltongue, the language of snakes. Something Salazar Slytherin could speak.

The world seemed to freeze. The snake turned its head to Harry and began to slither to him when it was blown to bits by Snape. Harry realized he'd done something strange by the shocked and scared looks he was receiving, but Kat ignored it. She ignored everything except the fact that he'd just spoken the same way the whispers did. She didn't know what he'd said, she didn't understand it, but she heard it. And if he could speak it, chances were he heard it too.

She wasn't alone. Someone else could hear it. Harry seemed as sane as anyone else. And if he could hear it then she wasn't imagining it. She wasn't crazy. Relief washed over her at that small thought. She wasn't crazy. Kat didn't even care how Harry knew Parseltongue. Knowing her sanity was still intact was all she needed at the moment.

…..

In the days following the duel, everyone seemed to have one thing on their minds: that since Harry could speak Parseltongue, as only descendents of Slytherin were known to do, he was the heir. Somehow Kat found herself in a conversation with Parvati and Lavender about it.

"I think it's strange," Lavender began. "You know, that message, and that boy being petrified, and then Harry speaks Parseltongue?"

"Do you think he's the heir?" Parvati whispered.

Lavender shrugged. "It just seems likely."

"Yes, and two days ago you two were whispering that Draco is the heir." Kat said, raising her eyebrows. "Honestly. Just because he can speak to snakes doesn't make him the heir to Slytherin."

"Oh, and I suppose you're saying this because you know everything about wizard bloodlines?" Lavender asked rather crossly.

Kat brushed off the other girl's attitude. "No, I'm saying it because a week from now Draco will make a comment about muggle-borns and you'll be saying he's the heir."

"I'm entitled to my changing opinions." Lavender said, arms crossing over her chest.

"I didn't say you weren't. But accusing people of things of which you have no proof aside from their character and abilities, and then not being able to pick who you're going to accuse, is rather annoying."

Parvati couldn't help but crack a smile, to the great annoyance of her friend. Lavender couldn't think of anything to say back, resulting in her grabbing Parvati's hand and storming off. Kat chuckled as she watched them go. Now alone, she decided she may as well go and find her brother and see if he fancied the girl Nate wanted so desperately to set her up with. As she walked through the hall she was stopped by Fred Weasley.

"Hey there, Kat," he said with a bright smile. "Where are you headed to?"

"Looking for Tyler. Have you seen him by any chance?"

"Can't say that I have." Fred said. "I was actually looking for you."

Kat blinked. "Me? Why?"

Fred looked, surprisingly, worried. "Do you think Ron is getting himself into trouble? I mean more than he normally does. I know how that lot is, so I figure they'll probably be off trying to find out all of this Chamber and Slytherin's heir stuff. I just want to know if you think he's okay or not. I mean, since you're one of his friends."

Fred probably would've continued babbling had Kat not smiled and said, "Fred. Calm down. I think he's alright, but if he starts to get into too much trouble I'll get him back in line."

Satisfied by this, Fred nodded. "Alright. Thanks, Kat."

The younger girl smiled at Ron's older brother before they continued on their separate ways. Eventually she found Tyler, gathered the information Nate requested, and began to head back to her common room when Luna came running up to her.

"Kat! Kat!" the girl shouted, pulling her aside.

"Luna? What's going on?"

Eyes wide, Luna said breathlessly, "It's Harry. He found a boy named Justin and Nearly Headless Nick earlier."

"So?" Kat asked, not quite making the connection.

Luna met her eyes. "They were petrified."

After what Luna was saying set in, Kat cursed. "Hell. He sure does make throwing suspicion off of him hard, doesn't he?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello loves! So sorry that I haven't updated in a while. But to make up for it, here's a new chapter (and another one will be following soon) :)**

**Kat P.O.V.**

"Where is Harry now?" Kat asked as she and Luna began to speed-walk through the halls, searching for the boy.

"I don't know." Luna said. "Probably with Professor Dumbledore. That would be my guess."

Kat sighed. "We'll never find him." Suddenly she caught sight of Hermione whispering to Ron up ahead. Luna said she'd catch up with her later and turned down the next hallway. "Hermione!" she exclaimed, running to her friend. "What's going on? Luna told me Harry found Nearly Headless Nick and Justin."

Hermione nodded solemnly. "Yes. People are getting really suspicious of him. There's not much we can do to throw it off of him, especially after finding out he's a Parseltongue."

"This really sucks." Ron groaned.

"We have to find out who the real heir is, before things get much worse around here." Hermione said urgently.

"I want to help."

Ron and Hermione looked at Kat in surprise. "What?" Ron asked, as if he hadn't just heard her.

"I said, I want to help. I know Harry told you what I told him, that there's no way Draco is the heir because the Malfoy family isn't a descendant of Slytherin. I can be useful too. So I want to help."

"You realize it'll probably be very dangerous." Hermione warned. "And if you get caught breaking any school rules you'll be in loads of trouble."

Kat shrugged. "What's life without a little adventure?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "What do you think?" Hermione asked.

"She did help with the bloodline part." Ron said. "She could be useful too. But another person might get in the way."

Kat felt her heart fall in disappointment. Then, to her delight and surprise, Ron and Hermione began smiling at each other, then her. "Of course you can help!" Ron exclaimed, earning him a shush from Hermione to remind him to keep his voice down.

"I was wondering how long it would take before you got around to asking." Hermione said.

Kat grinned. "I wanted in on the fun, too."

"Well there won't be much of that for a little while. We need things to calm down around before we do too much more work." Hermione said solemnly.

"True. Plus, Christmas break is right around the corner, and most of the school will be gone." Kat pointed out.

"Are you going home for the break?" Hermione asked as the trio began to move towards their common room.

Kat nodded. "Yeah, Mum and Dad make Christmas a major thing for our family. They'd kill us if we didn't come home. What about you two?"

"I'm going home too. We should ride the train together." Hermione suggested.

"Sounds great! I'm sure my brothers won't mind. They'll probably be riding with their friends anyways. Are you going home too, Ron?"

The ginger shook his head. "Nah, my parents said I could stay here and keep Harry company."

"Don't get into too much trouble while everyone's away." Kat playfully teased.

Ron blushed. "No promises. Oh, by the way Kat, my sister Ginny could use some help studying in Potions. It's not her best subject, you know, and if she doesn't improve her grade a bit Mum will kill her. She was wondering if you might help her out, you know tutor her a bit, but she wanted me to ask because she was too embarrassed."

"Yeah, I'd love to! Have her send me a post over break and we can set up when and where our sessions will take place." Kat said with an easy smile.

"Great, thanks!"

By this time, the trio was safely in their common room, waiting on Harry to return. After they sighted the dark-haired boy, Kat excused herself to her dorm room to finish packing. As she was headed for the stairs, however, she was stopped by Seamus.

"Hey, Kat." he said. "Can you come over here for a second?"

"Sure." She said with an easy smile. She moved over to the small corner table he was seated at, notes and books spread open before him. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could maybe help me study for the Potions test that Snape is giving right before we leave?" He asked sheepishly. "You're really good at Potions, and I'm really...not."

Kat laughed. "Sure thing." She took a seat next to him and glanced over the material he was studying. He seemed to grasp the bare minimum basics, but everything else wasn't clicking. "Alright, let's start with the Hair-Raising Potion..."

The two stayed bent over textbooks and notes for hours. As the hands on the clock ticked on, Seamus' face morphed from confused frustration to satisfaction, as he understood enough to pass the test that would make up most of the grade for the term. "Thanks Kat!" he exclaimed as they were finishing up. "You're the best."

Kat smiled. "You're very welcome. If you ever need help with anything else, let me know."

He nodded and wished her goodnight before she went up to her common room. _He's cute._ She decided as she lay in her bed, a huge grin plastered on her face as she drifted off to sleep.

Kat's home somehow always felt natural to return to after any time away. She had spent most of the train ride with Hermione, up until the very end when her brothers had joined them. Their mother had picked them up, looking happy and normal. She had asked about their classes, friends, teachers, and lessons, listening to the replies of her children with great interest, laughing and gasping in all the right places in their tales of their adventures at school. She had decorated the house as she always did for Christmas, meaning she had gone all out. A roast with carrots, potatoes, and corn had been waiting for them when they returned home. Their dad had greeted them with hugs and smiles, happy to have his children home for the holidays.

They made it through three days and Christmas without any events. Mum was stable for the time being, Kat's brothers were relentlessly teasing her as always, and each night ended with their dad rubbing her head while smoking his pipe. Ginny's family owl, Errol, had delivered a post to Kat the day after break started. The bird seemed like it was in need of retirement by the way it flopped around and scattered feathers outside. Kat chuckled as she took the letter. A few letters later, the two had decided that they'd meet Saturday afternoons in the library for an hour, and that the sessions would continue until Ginny no longer needed Kat's help. Dad thought it was great that Kat was doing so well in Potions, and Mum was happy to see her helping her friends. Things seemed to be going better than usual, much to Kat's delight. But the day after Christmas, Kat saw a great black owl flying away from the house. She decided to ask her mother about it, since her dad had returned to work.

Kat found her mum in the kitchen baking cookies. "Hey there, sweetheart. Help me in here, would you?" Her mum said, gesturing to the ingredients laid out on the counters. Kat rolled up her sleeves and obliged, waiting until her mum had placed the cookies in the oven and was washing out a bowl before bringing up the owl.

"Mum," she began, "whose owl was flying away from here earlier?"

Her mum nearly broke the bowl she held. Without facing her daughter she asked, "What do you mean, love?"

"There was a big black owl flying away from here. I thought maybe you'd-"

Suddenly her mum spun around, bowl abandoned in the sink, placed her hands on Kat's shoulders roughly, and bent down so that she was eye level with the girl. Kat had never seen her mother look so serious in her life. "Listen to me, Katrina." She said, using Kat's full name, which hardly ever happened. "You must never, ever tell your father that you saw that owl. Do you understand me? Never."

"But why-"

"Because he would be very angry. Now promise me you won't say anything."

Kat was confused, but said, "I promise. I'll never say anything."

"Good. Now go play with your brothers." Her mum said, returning to washing the dishes as quickly as she had grabbed Kat.

Kat quickly left the room and retreated to the small library her father used for his work. Her mother had a writing table next to a window. Making sure no one was coming and that her mother was still cleaning in the kitchen, she crept over to the small wooden table. A folded up piece of paper lay abandoned. Kat heard her mother running water in the kitchen before hearing the clink of another dish being dropped into the sink. Knowing she had a few minutes, since for some reason Mum preferred washing her dishes the Muggle way than by using magic, Kat unfolded the letter and began to read.

Lana,

My regards to your family, before I continue. I'm afraid there isn't much I can do regarding your business with Miss Lestrange, seeing as it was a very powerful contract that you signed. I have reviewed the agreement and am still convinced as I was before that it is in the best interest of you and your family to continue with the arrangement. After all, if the Dark Lord were to return, you and I both know that yours is a family he would make sure to come after, considering how strongly you and your husband opposed him all those years ago. As per your request, the contract is still a secret from him. My husband has seen to it that there are no files on it in existence, especially at the Ministery.

I say all of that as your legal consultant. As your friend, however, I must urge you not to break the contract. My sister may be a bit strange, but Bellatrix is in good with the Dark Lord, and she will keep to her word. She will keep you and your family safe, behind bars or not. Bellatrix has taking a liking to you, and will do everything in her power to make sure that you and your family are safe. I urge you to strongly consider all that I have said, and to act on reason instead of fear. Our world is at peace, and though no one knows how long it will last this time, I find it in the best interest of those we love to make sure we are prepared for anything.

Your Friend and Confidant,

Narcissa Malfoy

Kat was shocked. Fearing the wrath of her mother if she was discovered reading her letter, folded it carefully back up and returned it to its spot. She grabbed a book off of one of the many bookshelves and sat down to read, hearing her mother leave the kitchen. Thankfully she didn't enter the library.

_Why is my mum receiving letters from Draco's mum?_ Kat asked herself. _Since when is Mrs. Malfoy her friend? What contract does Mum have that's so important and secretive Dad doesn't even know? And who is Bellatrix Lestrange?_ So many questions were rushing around in Kat's head that they began to run into each other. She couldn't ask her dad because she'd just promised her mum she wouldn't mention it to him, and she couldn't ask her mum because she'd be angry at Kat for going through her things, and she couldn't ask her brothers because she doubted they even knew the letter existed. So Kat was faced with the dilemma of keeping quiet.

Kat shoved the letter to the back of her mind, deciding that if she dwelled on it too much it would do nothing but frustrate her. During the day she distracted herself by having snowball fights with her brothers, cooking with her mum, studying, coming up with an outline for tutoring Ginny, and reading, but at night the letter overtook her thoughts until she managed to fall asleep.

Tyler woke her up early the day they returned to Hogwarts. Rudely, she might add, considering he jumped on her bed yelling "Time to go to school!" at the top of his lungs. Her dad had already gone to work, which was more disappointing than surprising. A warm breakfast greeted her, along with a tight hug from her mum. Two hours, a few bags, one last adventure in the snow, and a hot chocolate later, the Maurders were on Platform 9 3/4.

"Be good, study, and write me every now and again." Mum said, hugging each of her children. "It gets too quiet without you three around."

"Sure thing, Mum." Tyler said. "We have to get going now or we'll miss the train."

"Go on, go on." Mum smiled, waving her children off as they boarded the train. Tyler and Nate had decided to travel the first half of the trip with Kat and Hermione. They chatted, laughed, swiped stories, and ended up spending the whole ride teasing their sister in front of her friend.

Nate had just laid in on a particularly embarrassing story involving a book and an unassuming cat when the train had finally arrived at Hogsmead.

"Ah, darn. Interrupted before I could get to the best part." He said, smirking at his sister, who was shooting him death glares. "It was a pleasure riding with you, Miss Granger. Until next time." In a very comical manner, he bowed and took his leave. Hermione laughed.

"See you later, sis." Tyler said. "It was nice talking with you, Hermione." He waved and left to find his friends. Kat groaned.

"So sorry about them." She said, shaking her head. "They're incredibly embarrassing."

"But they love you a lot, I can tell. They're very attached to you." Hermione said. Kat laughed.

"Well I'd certainly hope so, considering I'm their younger sister. But I know what you mean, and I know they look out for me. Probably more than I know, which is actually a bit scary to think about."

The two girls walked in silence for a minute before Hermione said, "I wonder what trouble Harry and Ron managed to get into while we were away."

"Who knows." Kat said. "I'm sure we're in for some interesting stories though."

And that they were. Kat and Hermione had barely entered the common room before Ron and Harry pulled them into a corner. "You'll never believe what we found out." Ron said breathlessly.

"What?" Hermione asked.

Harry began their tale of using the Polyjuice Potion to take Crabbe and Goyle's place in order to interrogate Malfoy, with Ron adding in details every now and then. They'd discovered that Draco wasn't the heir, which of course Kat had already told them, but that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened fifty years before.

"Anything else?" Hermione asked.

Ron looked at her in disbelief. "Anything else? We didn't exactly have all the time in the world, Hermione. The potion does reverse after a little while."

Hermione sighed irritably. "Very well. I guess we'll just have to wait for some other bit of information to come up then."

"That we will." Kat said quietly.

The dark-haired girl had just sat down at her table in the Great Hall for dinner when Seamus approached her. "I passed! He exclaimed with a huge grin.

"Good!" She said with a bright smile. "Wait, how do you know already?"

"Snape saw me coming to dinner and asked me if I used an enchanted quill on it." Seamus admitted. "Still, I passed. I couldn't have done it without you. It's all thanks to you, Kat."

Seamus' smile was so bright and happy that Kat couldn't help but grin. "If you need anything else, let me know." Kat said.

He nodded, said he would, and darted off to find Dean. Kat shook her head happily before enjoying her mashed potatoes.

That Saturday was her first tutoring session with Ginny. She arrived at the library first and set what books and notes she'd brought onto a table in a nearly empty section. A few minutes later, she'd caught sight of Ginny and waved her over. "Hi. I brought some of my notes and my book." Ginny said softly, sitting down.

"Good, good. What are you working on?" Kat asked.

"The twelve uses of dragon blood."

"Ah, I remember that. Not hard to learn, but bothersome to memorize." Kat quickly glanced over Ginny's notes on the subject. "Let's get started then, shall we?"

The two spent the next hour with their heads bent over Ginny's notes and the books, whispering so as to not be yelled at by the librarian. By the end of the session Ginny was working on memorizing half of them, saving the other half for next week. "Bring your notes on the other six next time, alright?" Kat said. Ginny nodded, thanked her, and left. Kat collected her things and was headed towards her common room when she ran smack into none other than Draco.

Her books and notes went flying. She'd expected him to tell her to watch where she was going, especially because they were in an otherwise empty corridor, and walk off, but to her surprise he bent down and helped collect her scattered notes.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he handed her a handful of papers.

"Yeah, sorry." Kat said slowly, waiting for an insult of some kind.

But the insult never came. Instead, he smiled a little and said, "I should've watched where I was going, especially around the library. You academic type are normally a bit distracted walking out of there."

Kat didn't quite know what to say except, "Well...thanks for helping me. With my papers, I mean."

"Don't mention it." The two stood and Draco said, "Could we, uh, keep this between us?" Kat raised her eyebrows at the pleading glance he gave her.

"I see. Don't want the other students to know you helped Crazy Kat pick up her things, do you?" She said lightly. He looked away. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of telling anyone. Thanks again for helping collect my notes." And with that, she walked off towards her common room.

_What was that all about?_ Kat wondered. Normally Draco was a prick, but he had been polite and asked if she was alright, even going to far as to help pick up her things. Clearly he'd hit his head recently and it had temporarily changed his unpleasant personality. That was the only thing Kat could come up with that made sense. She hadn't planned on mentioning the event to anyone even before he'd asked, mostly because no one would believe that Draco Malfoy had actually been nice, but the fact that he'd had the audacity to ask irked Kat. _He was a decent human being for all of a minute, and then he remembered he's a prick._ Kat decided. Shaking off the event, she entered her common room and continued about her day.

A few months passed, and the number of petrified students grew. People were more afraid than ever to even walk through the school after all of the attacks. Teachers began escorting students to and from classes, and students were not permitted to leave their common rooms unless they were with at least one other person. To make matters worse, Dumbledore had been removed, making most students even more uneasy. Fear had gripped the entire school, it seemed. All except Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Kat. Kat thought it silly that everyone was so afraid when they didn't even know what to be afraid of. She understood how dangerous it was that there was a creature roaming the school petrifying students left and right, but it had gotten really old really fast watching her peers jump and scream over anything that went bump in the night. There had been an instance in her dormitory when Romilda's coat had fallen off of her trunk just after all of the lamps had been extinguished and Lavender had screamed so loud Kat's ears rang for two days. Instead of strangling the girl like she wanted to, Kat settled for making it known that the next person to scream like that for no reason would wake up with all of her things strewn about the grounds. No one screamed at anything in their dormitory after that.

Kat and Hermione were sitting in their common room one evening discussing the possibilities of what could be terrorizing the school. Harry and Ron were busy serving detention with Snape, apparently they'd done something he didn't like. _Probably breathed wrong,_ Kat thought. The two girls had been coming up with theories for nearly an hour when Hermione sighed in frustration and said, "That's it, I'm going to the library to see what I can find."

"Do you want me to come, too?" Kat asked.

"No, you'd better stay here. Harry and Ron will be furious if they don't have some way of finding out where I've gone off to." Hermione said goodbye and left, leaving Kat with nothing better to do than study some of her Charms notes. Harry and Ron returned to the common room late, looking grim. Their expressions told Kat what the whispers following them confirmed: someone else had been petrified. Kat quickly noticed that Hermione wasn't with them.

"Who was it?" Kat asked solemnly as they sat down on either side of her. Neither of them spoke. Ron seemed at a loss for words, so Harry cleared his throat.

"It was Hermione." Kat's eyes widened. "She was on her way here from-"

"The library." Kat finished. "She told me that's where she was going. I asked if I should go with her and she said no, she wanted me to stay here and tell you two that's where she'd gone in case you arrived back before she did." Guilt welled up inside of her. "I should've just gone, maybe then this wouldn't have happened."

Harry put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "If you'd gone with her, you could be petrified right now too. It's better that you didn't."

"Yeah, I heard McGonagall telling Flitwick that they're close to being able to revive everyone. They're going to announce it in a few days." Ron said.

Kat smiled at the boys' attempts to cheer her up. With Hermione gone, however, how could they manage to find out what was really going on? She was the brains, after all. Kat hadn't a clue where to look. With a heavy heart she resigned herself to waiting and seeing if Hermione would be revived soon. In the meantime, someone was going to have to help Harry and Ron pass their finals...

The next Saturday, Kat met Ginny in the library for another tutoring session. The younger girl really didn't need it anymore, and Kat was convinced she'd pass her Potions final with ease, but it was the only excuse the girls could give teachers to be able to go out of their common rooms, even if it was just to talk quietly. Kat chuckled to herself on the way to the library, remembering that she was working with Seamus and Dean one more time that night and realizing she was quickly becoming the go-to girl for potions help. Ginny smiled when she saw Kat and they made their way to their usual table, in the back of the library. They'd begun talking about a number of unrelated things during their hour-long tutoring sessions, and in this way had slowly developed a strong friendship. While they talked, Kat couldn't shake the feeling that Ginny was distracted and that something was wrong.

"Are you alright?" she finally asked.

Ginny nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You seem a bit...off. Normally you're more open and focused than you are today." Ginny looked away from Kat, clearly hiding something. "Ginny. If you have something that you've been keeping in, you know you can tell me. I can keep a secret."

Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it again. Then after a moment of silence she said in a soft voice, with just enough hesitation that anyone but Kat wouldn't have caught it, "I...I have a crush on Harry!"

Kat smiled. "Is that all? That's nothing to be ashamed of. Harry's a cutie. Not my type, but cute." Ginny laughed at her friend, a huge blush creeping up her face. Kat had known Ginny had a crush on Harry for months by the way she acted around him. The fact that Ginny would confess it to her was sweet, but Kat knew the girl well enough to know when she was hiding something, and her confession was most definitely a cover-up. For what, she was going to have to find out


	6. Chapter 6

Sleep was a welcome friend to those students at Hogwarts that studied incessantly with hopes of passing their Potions tests. After studying with Seamus, Ron, Harry, and Dean for hours, Kat was more than ready to give her mind a break. In fact, she was so tired that she was asleep before her head hit the pillow. But the slumber she so desired didn't last long. In her dreams, the harsh whispers that made up the snake language crashed into her, burning her lips as if begging her to speak it, scorching her body in anticipation, tearing at the threads of her mind in attempt to gain control of her. The whispers got harsher and harsher as she got hotter and hotter, they were squeezing the air out of her lungs because she wouldn't just say it, stop, stop, why wouldn't it stop, it was too hot, too hot, too loud, no air, she didn't understand the commands, why wouldn't it just stop, make it stop, too hot, too loud, too hot. Then there was nothing. Kat's eyes flew open. She sat straight up in bed, fully awake, shaking and covered in a cold sweat. Something is wrong. She thought. Something worse than the fact that Hermione, along with many other students, had been petrified. Something worse than Dumbledore being gone. Something worse than Mum's spells, or the massive headache Kat had, or the heat she felt when she put her hands to her lips, all caused by the dream that was more of a nightmare.

Suddenly she heard the whispers again. They were calling to her, almost hypnotically. Kat didn't understand what they were saying, but felt that she should follow them. She silently threw on some clothes, freezing when she heard Lavender mutter in her sleep. When the coast was clear, she slipped out of her dormitory.

The corridors were surprisingly empty, which was great for Kat. The whispers pulled her along, helping her avoid teachers, Prefects, and ghosts that were on the lookout for the monster or students out of bed. She ended up in a girls bathroom. With a start, she realized that it was the same bathroom the whispers had drawn her to before.

"Who's there?" a girls voice said. A ghost of a girl floated up from one of the stalls. "Oh, it's you. Are you looking for Harry and his friend?"

"They were in here?" Kat asked, surprised.

"Yes. Harry said something funny and that entrance over there opened up. I don't know where it goes," the ghost, whom was named Myrtle if Kat remembered correctly, said, "but you might want to go make sure they're alright. I have a bad feeling about that place."

Without waiting for any more information, Kat ran over to the black hole by the sinks. She counted to three, took a deep breath, and went inside.

It was dark, dingy, and disgusting. Kat was walking through the plumbing system, and thankfully managing to avoid walking in anything gross. The whispers propelled her forward, led her through winding twists and turns. They got louder and more urgent, as if rushing her forward. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and not for the first time in her life she wished her hair was less wild because she would love to be easily concealed at that moment. Finally she saw a light at the end of the tunnel she was in. It was small, and looked to be coming from a wand. Slowly she stepped out of her tunnel, wand in hand, prepared to attack in case of an enemy being at the other end.

"Who's there?" a voice asked. A very familiar voice. The light was waved around the room, as if the holder of the wand was desperately searching for another person.

"Lumos." Kat whispered. The tip of her wand lit up. "Hello, Harry." She said as she stepped into full few of him.

"Kat!" He exclaimed. "How did you get here?"

Kat hesitated. "There were these...voices. More of whispers, really. They sounded like they were speaking Parsletongue, but I couldn't understand it. They sort of led me here." She said sheepishly.

Harry looked at her as if she'd grown two heads. "You can hear Parsletongue? You've heard the whispers all year?" Kat nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to seem crazy. I can't understand it, so I was afraid you'd think I was just making fun of you. I don't know why I can hear it, but I had a feeling something was horribly wrong, and that I should follow it. What's happened?"

"Ginny was taken into the Chamber." Harry said. Kat gasped. "So we came to save her. Ron and I, that is, and we brought Lockhart."

Kat wrinkled her nose. "Why would you bring that idiot?"

"He told the other professors that he knew where the entrance was. We went up to his room to get him, and he was trying to run away. So we forced him to come down here. He took Ron's wand and tried to obliterate our memories, but the wand backfired and hit him instead. He flew backwards and caused a cave-in, which separated me from them. Ron told me to go on, so I did." Harry quickly informed her.

"So what do we do now?"

Harry shook his head. "You can't come with me, Kat. It's too dangerous."

"Harry Potter, I'm coming with you one way or another so I suggest you hurry up and decide if we're going to waste valuable time fighting about it or not."

The boy sighed. "Fine. Just be careful. Oh, and there's something I ought to tell you before we go in. Ron and I found a giant snake skin, back before the cave in."

"Great." Kat groaned. "But I'm still coming." Kat looked up at whatever stood in their way. Her jaw dropped. It was a round door with seven stone snakes stretched across it to the right, bound together at the far left. "How do we open it? There's no handle." Kat asked.

Harry didn't answer, but began speaking in Parsletongue. As the two watched, another stone snake began to twist around the outside of the door, finally coming to a stop. The door loudly and slowly swung open. It only took a few seconds, but to Kat it took forever. She was very aware that an enemy waiting on someone to come save Ginny would be alerted to their presence, but seeing as there was no alternative way to get in she and Harry would just have to be on their guard.

"I'll go first." Harry said, raising his wand in front of him and stepping cautiously through the entryway. Kat followed, dimming her light. Harry noticed and did the same.

The two quickly found themselves in a huge chamber supported by Roman-style columns. On the very far wall across from them was a floor-to-ceiling statue of Salazar Slytherin, dressed in long robes and complete with a face that reminded Kat of a monkey. She couldn't help but think that it was actually quite impressive that Slytherin had managed to build this room without any of the other founders knowing. Then her eyes caught familiar red hair and Hogwarts robes.

"Ginny!" she exclaimed, rushing over to her friend. Harry followed close behind.

Kat knelt next to Ginny, with Harry on the other side. "Wake up, Ginny." He said, panic in his voice. When she didn't respond, he gently shook her shoulders. "Wake up!"

"It won't work." A cold, calculating voice said from behind Harry. He turned, and Kat looked beyond him to see a teenage boy in Hogwarts robes. His brown hair was short and his dark eyes sent a chill down Kat's spine.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, standing with his wand held tightly in his hand.

"My name is Tom Riddle."

"Tom Riddle?" Harry asked. "From the diary?"

"Diary?" Kat asked, wrinkling her brow in confusion. "What diary?"

Tom chuckled. "So you brought her here but didn't tell her anything, I see. Allow me to explain. I sealed a part of myself into my diary when I was a student at Hogwarts, hoping that it would one day be returned. I waited fifty long years before I could come back, transported here by that girl." He nodded towards Ginny.

"Ginny brought your diary back?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Not intentionally. But she began writing in it, and with each word she wrote I grew stronger, gaining more and more control of her. It was Ginny Weasley who wrote my warning on the wall, she who unleashed Salazar Slytherin's monster onto the school. But she began to fear the power of the diary and tried to dispose of it in the girls lavatory where you, Harry Potter, found it. She ransacked your room to try and find it when I told her to. Of course, she didn't know what she was doing, or have any control over any of it. She doesn't remember anything she did for me. Not that you'll get the chance to ask, seeing as she'll be dead shortly."

"Dead?!" Kat shrieked.

"Yes." Tom said with an icy smile. "I've been drawing on her life to sustain myself. Once I am fully restored, she will die." Kat glared at Riddle, determined not to let that happen. "Although there is something I would like to ask you, Harry."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Harry was glaring at Riddle with more menace in his eyes than even Kat's held.

"How is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent was able to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

"Why do you care how I escaped? Voldemort was after your time!"

"Voldemort is my past, present, and future."

Realization dawned on Harry and Kat in the same moment. Kat's stomach sank and her heart nearly stopped as she understood who was standing before her.

"You. You're the Heir of Slytherin." Harry said.

"Yes, boy, that's right. I had thought about killing all the filthy mudbloods in this school, but in the past few months I've fashioned myself a new target." Tom smiled maliciously at Harry. "You."

Before Kat could react to the situation, which was quickly becoming very bad indeed, Riddle began to speak the snake language. As he spoke Kat heard a low, menacing hiss, and then a huge dark green snake came slithering out of a hiding place Kat hadn't noticed near the statute, whipping its head around as if looking for prey.

"What the bloody hell is that?!" Kat shouted. It was huge-probably about fifty feet long.

"Don't look at its eyes!" Harry yelled. Kat looked away quickly. "It's a basilisk, it's what's been terrorizing the school! If you look directly at its eyes it'll kill you!"

"Well that's great, think you could've mentioned that before we got in here? You said a snake skin, I didn't think you meant a basilisk!" Kat said crossly. "How do we kill it?"

"You can't." Riddle said calmly. "I think I'll have it kill Potter first, and then it can have you as a snack." He said something harshly in the snape language. The basilisk hissed and rushed towards Harry.

"Stay with Ginny and try to get out!" Harry yelled at Kat before darting off in attempt to outrun the basilisk that was determined to make him its meal.

"Wait, Harry!" Kat tried to yell, but he was already gone. She was alone with an unconscious and apparently dying Ginny and Tom Riddle. Well this is awkward, she thought.

Riddle's eyes were on her. Kat stood defensively in front of Ginny. He seemed to be evaluating her. "What?" She snapped.

"Has anyone ever told you how great you could be?" He asked expressionlessly.

Kat blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I can see it in your eyes. Power. There's a lot of it inside you, as well as a desire to be recognized. Your eyes remind me of my own when I was your age."

"I am nothing like you. I don't go around murdering people for absolutely no reason." Kat growled, her grip on her wand tightening.

Riddle's lips twisted into a thin smile. "You're still young, you have much to learn. Never underestimate what the desire to be powerful can do."

Suddenly sharp, painful hisses began to resonate in Kat's head. Riddle looked at her curiously as she fell to her knees, hands on her head. "So you can hear the basilisk. How strange...do you understand it?"

"What's it to you?" Kat asked. She was quickly growing tired of this guy.

Riddle didn't answer, instead said, "I find it funny how you're guarding an unconscious girl when your friend is being chased to his death by a basilisk. I won't become fully materialized until she's dead; you should probably be more concerned with him than her."

Kat was torn. He had a point, which irked her. Ginny would hopefully be safe if she wasn't there to guard her, and Harry could probably use some help. But what if he was leading her to a trap? She didn't trust Riddle, not for one minute, and she hadn't a clue where to go. For all she knew she'd just end up getting in the way or worse, getting one or all of them killed. No, she decided, it's better if I just stay here.

Suddenly Harry came running back, the basilisk hot on his tail. It was screeching as if in pain, and its eyes were bleeding. Harry held a sword in his right hand, and the Sorting Hat in his other. Behind the basilisk was a Phoenix. Harry met Kat's eyes and tossed the Hat to her. She caught it and set it down, apologizing for the rough handling before running over to aid Harry.

"Fawkes blinded it, so it won't kill you, but its fangs are poisonous, so don't let it bite you." He said quickly.

"Great." Kat muttered. "What's the plan?"

The two of them jumped right to avoid being crushed by it. "It relies on hearing now to kill us. You distract it, and I'll stab it with this."

Kat looked over the sword quickly. "Is that the sword of Gryffindor?" She asked in amazement, running to another side again.

Harry nodded. "Ready?"

She grabbed a piece of a column that the basilisk had broken and nodded. On three, she darted in front of it and threw the rock she held at it. It hissed and reared its head, getting ready to strike. Harry jumped in just as it brought its head down, but it seemed to have figured out their plan and went for him instead. Kat knocked him out of the way, but heard him cry out in pain. She cast a spell on the basilisk to momentarily deafen it (one of her mother's quirks was making sure her children could deafen someone, or in this case something, by the time they went to Hogwarts) and turned to Harry, who was sitting up but was clutching his arm.

"What's wrong?" Kat asked.

"My arm...I think the basilisk's fang caught it when we jumped." There was a deep cut running from his shoulder to his elbow.

"But it's poisonous." Kat said. She wished she had an antidote potion with her, but she doubted that a first-year potion would help against basilisk venom.

Kat knew they were running out of time. The deafness spell she'd cast would be wearing off soon, Harry had basilisk venom in him, and Ginny was dying. Think, think, think. Suddenly Fawkes flew over and landed next to Harry, nodding his head as if to tell her he'd help the boy but she had to go. Kat nodded back to the phoenix and stood.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked as he watched his friend pick up the sword of Gryffindor.

Kat smiled cockily at him. "I'm not letting us die down here. I'm gonna go kill a basilisk."

"Wait, Kat! You can't go!" Harry shouted after her as she turned to the basilisk.

"Why not? You were going to." Without waiting for him to say another word, Kat turned and walked in front of the basilisk, who had regained its hearing back. "Hey! Over here!"

The snake hissed and brought its head down again. Kat didn't want to be crushed by it, so she jumped out of the way without a moment to spare. Before it brought its head up again, she jumped on top of it and shoved the sword through the roof of its mouth. It screeched and threw her off as she pulled the legendary sword out. She heard Harry yell for her as she landed on her side, the sword stopping just in front of her. The basilisk lay dead.

Kat slowly got up, making sure nothing was broken, and walked over to Harry, dully noting how lucky she was that nothing was broken. "I'm alright, Harry." She said. He ran up to her to make sure. She looked at his arm to check on his wound. It seemed to be getting worse by the minute. "We have to get out of here. But first, we have to beat Riddle."

"Good luck with that." Riddle called over to her with a smirk.

"How are we gonna do that?" Harry asked.

Kat was thoughtful for a moment, looking around. Her eyes caught sight of the diary and she said, "The diary. That's how Ginny revived him, that's how he was brought back here. Destroy it and I'll bet we destroy him."

"The only thing we have to kill it with is a sword." Harry said. "Seems like a bit of overkill." Kat could almost see the lightbulb go off in his head. "Or a basilisk fang."

They devised a plan for her to go stay with Ginny and try to wake her up, as well as distract Riddle, while Harry used a basilisk fang to destroy the diary. Kat ran over to her friend and began to shake her. "Ginny, we need you to wake up now."

"How did a second-year learn a deafness spell?" Riddle asked her, obviously expecting her to ignore him.

Instead, to his surprise, she coldly said, "Some of us use our ambition for better things than murdering innocent people." Kat continued shaking Ginny in a desperate attempt to wake her.

"I already told you, it won't work." Riddle said.

"Well this might." Harry said. Riddle and Kat both looked to him, Kat with a smirk at having successfully distracted Riddle, and Riddle himself with a look of pure horror etched onto his face. In Harry's left hand was the diary, and in his raised right was a basilisk fang. He laid the diary on the ground and knelt. "Goodbye, Riddle."

"No!" Riddle yelled, moving as if to stop Harry. But he was too late. Harry swung his arm down and pierced the cover of the diary with the basilisk fang. Riddle screamed as black blood, dark as ink, shot from the diary, knocking Harry back. Then as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Riddle was gone, destroyed.

Ginny's eyes flew open. "Ginny!" Kat exclaimed. "Are you alright?" She asked, helping the younger girl sit up. Harry ran over to join them.

"Yeah, I think so. What happened? Where are w-Harry!" She exclaimed, noticing at Harry's arm. "What happened?"

"Just a little cut, that's all." Harry said with a small smile.

"Now isn't the time for you to be heroic about it, Harry." Kat said gently. "We have to get you to the hospital wing."

"I don't think there's time." He said, grimacing. "The venom has been in me too long."

"Well I'm certainly not leaving you here to die." Kat tried desperately to think of a way to save him. Just when she was about to admit that she could think of nothing, Fawkes flew over.

"Hey there." Harry said to the phoenix. Fawkes leaned his head over Harry's arm and began to cry. Two tears landed on his wound.

Kat watched in amazement as the wound closed up and healed before her eyes. Harry's eyes were wide as he stared at Fawkes. "Phoenix tears. Apparently they cure basilisk wounds." Kat said, managing some humor in the situation.

"Are you alright, Ginny?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded. "Good. We need to get out of here."

Kat helped Ginny to her feet as Harry collected the diary. "For Dumbledore." He said by way of explanation.

"How are we getting out of here?" Ginny asked.

Fawkes spread his wings, and Harry motioned for them to grab his hand. Harry took hold of Fawkes' leg, Kat grabbed his hand and tucked the Sorting Hat under her arm, and Ginny held tightly onto hers. The phoenix took off, flying them through the chamber and the entrance until they found Lockhart and Ron. "Grab on!" Ginny yelled to her brother. Ron took her hand, and reluctantly pulled Lockhart along.

Finally they all found themselves in Dumbledore's office. Mr. Weasley was waiting for them, along with McGonagall and the Headmaster himself. Mr. Weasley anxiously ran to his daughter when he saw her. "Ginny!" He exclaimed, making sure she was alright. "Have I taught you nothing? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain!"

"I know, Dad. I'm sorry." Ginny hung her head.

"I'm just glad you're alright." He said, pulling her into a hug. "You too, Ron." He pulled his son into the hug too, much to Ron's obvious embarrassment.

Lockhart was walking around looking quite confused. "Hello." He said with a bright smile to Professor Dumbledore. "Who are you?"

"Minerva, would you see to it that Professor Lockhart is properly taken care of?" Dumbledore asked with an amused smile.

"Of course, Headmaster. Come along." McGonagall took Lockhart's hand and led him away somewhere.

"Arthur, if you'd like to escort your children to the Great Hall for the feast." Dumbledore said. Mr. Weasley nodded and led Ginny and Ron out.

"Miss Maurder, if you wouldn't mind waiting over here while I speak to Harry." Dumbledore gestured to a part of the office where she wouldn't be able to see them. Obediently, she went.

Harry and Dumbledore began to talk about the events in the chamber, which mostly consisted of Harry explaining what the diary was and what had happened down there, going into great detail about Kat's defeating the basilisk. Before they finished speaking, however, Kat heard the door burst open and the angry voice of a man she didn't know began to speak. Dumbledore remained calm and after a few minutes, the angry man left. There was silence all around her. While Kat waited for Dumbledore to come get her, she looked at her surroundings. There were a few portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses, as well as a huge collection of books and oddities. Finally she heard Dumbledore say, "You may come out now, Kat."

Quickly Kat moved out of her hiding spot and in front of Dumbledore, who was sitting behind his desk with his hands folded. He smiled at her softly. "Harry told me about your actions in the chamber."

"I'm sorry, sir, I know I was out of bed past curfew but-"

Dumbledore raised up a hand to silence her. "Yes, you broke the rules, but you did it to help a friend. Harry seems convinced that had it not been for you, he would be dead, as well as everyone else that ventured into the chamber to save Ginny Weasley."

Kat blushed. "Well, I don't know about that."

"Why don't you tell me about what happened." Dumbledore said gently.

Kat took a deep breath and began. "Well, I was in bed asleep and..." she faltered, afraid. But something in Dumbledore's eyes said he already knew how she knew to go to the chamber, so she decided she may as well tell him. "I heard these voices. They didn't speak words, but harsh whispers and noises. I'd heard them before, and when Harry spoke to that snake I realized it was Parsletongue. I couldn't understand it, but I could hear it. I heard it the first night we were here, but I didn't tel anyone because I didn't want them to think I was crazy." She admitted softly, not meeting Dumbledore's eyes. "It woke me up, and I had this feeling that something was horribly wrong. So I got up and followed the voices to a girls bathroom. Moaning Myrtle told me Harry and Ron had gone down the open passageway with Lockhart to find Ginny, so I followed them. I guess the voice led me a different way than they'd gone because I ran into Harry at a door right before the actual chamber. He told me what had happened with Ron and Lockhart, and I told him I was going with him. We found Ginny, and Tom Riddle was there, who turned out to actually be Voldemort." Noticing Dumbledore's surprise that she used his name, Kat said, "I see no point in being afraid of a name. Anyways, Riddle summoned a basilisk after we figured out who he was and sent it after Harry. Harry ran off and I stayed with Ginny. When he came back, he had a sword, the Sorting Hat, and Fawkes, and the basilisk had been blinded. He threw the Sorting Hat to me and I put it next to Ginny before I went to help him. The basilisk was coming down on him so I pushed him out of the way, but it still managed to cut his arm. That's when he told me about the venom. Fawkes flew over and I grabbed the sword to kill the basilisk. It tried to crush me, and I jumped onto its head before stabbing it. I pulled the sword off and it threw me off. Then we figured out that we could destroy the diary with a fang, so we did. Then Ginny woke up, and Fawkes flew us out, and here I am."

Dumbledore looked her over for a long, long time. Finally he said, "I see. You played a large role in getting your friends out safely tonight, Kat. You should be very proud of yourself for that. It takes a great deal of courage to put your life on the line for the people you care about."

"I didn't even have time to consider being afraid." Kat admitted. "I just didn't want anything to happen to them."

"I understand." Dumbledore said. "Why don't you head on over to the feast? I'm sure there are plenty of people waiting to see you."

Kat nodded and walked quickly to the Great Hall. She stood in the entryway for a moment, noticing that everyone else was already seated. Suddenly she caught sight of Nate and Tyler. As soon as they saw her they took off running towards her. She met them halfway and they grabbed her into a hug, knocking into her so hard they nearly collapsed. She laughed.

"Are you alright?" Nate asked. "We heard about what happened in the chamber."

"Did you really kill a basilisk?" Tyler asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, and yes, I killed the basilisk." Kat said.

Tyler raised his eyebrows. "My little sister, slayer of snakes."

"That was one special circumstance. If I find any snakes in my room, one of you are killing it." Kat said seriously.

Her brothers laughed and hugged her again. "We're glad you're alright. You had us worried there for a minute." Nate said.

"You'd best head over to your table. Seems there are some people that want to see you." Tyler said, tilting his head in the direction of Gryffindor table. Ron, Harry, and an unpetrified Hermione stood waiting for her, grins plastered to their faces. Kat said goodbye to her brothers and ran over to her friends.

She hugged Hermione first, happy to have her friend back. "I missed you!" Kat exclaimed.

"Harry told me all about what you did in the chamber." Hermione said.

Kat blushed slightly before hugging Ron and Harry. The four sat down and Kat, who was sitting next to Ginny, hugged her too just for the heck of it. Seamus got her attention long enough to tell her he was glad she was alright before Fred and George congratulated her for killing the snake. Then Dumbledore stood and got the attention of the room.

"A warm welcome back to all of our previously petrified students. I'm sure you've all heard of the events that took place tonight, so I believe some last minute points are in order. First, to Harry Potter, for his bravery in the chamber, I award forty five points." Polite clapping and cheers followed, silenced when Dumbledore continued. "And to Katrina Maurder, for defeating the basilisk that terrorized the school as well as incredible bravery, I award fifty points."

Gryffindor didn't need the extra points to win, but they were certainly nice. The room was decorated in their house colors and the Gryffindor table cheered. Kat and Harry were suddenly the heroes of the school.

Kat was more than ready to get home for the summer. She sat in a compartment with Luna and her brothers, having told Hermione she was going to ride with them since she'd be seeing her soon. Kat was looking forward to spending a few weeks in the Muggle world with Hermione, and then going to Ginny's for a bit from there. Her brothers really seemed to like Luna, which made for a nice train ride. Finally they arrived at Kings Cross.

"You'll have to come stay with us, Luna." Nate said. "I'm sure our parents wouldn't mind, and we'd love to have you around."

"I think I'd quite like that." Luna said with a smile.

"I'll send you a post when I get back." Kat said, hugging her friend goodbye before walking with her brothers to meet their mum.

"I heard you had quite an adventure." Mum said to Kat after greeting them with hugs.

Kat groaned. "How did you hear about that already?"

"Mrs. Weasley sent me a letter asking me to thank you a million times for what you did for Ginny in the chamber. Looks like it's story time on the way home."

Nate and Tyler grinned watching Kat shake her head, smiling. Then, smiles on all their faces, they headed to their home to recover from this past year and prepare for the next one. Kat had a feeling that her adventures with Harry, Ron, and Hermione were far from over; in fact, they were just beginning.

**Hello loves! So I've decided to do away with putting that my story is written in Kat's point of view. It seems silly since every chapter is written from hers, so I'll be going back and changing that in the other chapters. Anyways, please review! I'd love some honest feedback, I love writing this story but I'd really appreciate knowing what readers think of it. Constructive criticism is also welcomed with open arms. Until next time :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Another summer had flown by for the Maurders. But between Tyler's new girlfriend coming over for dinner every few weeks (Rachelle really was a lovely girl), Nate nearly giving their father a heart attack with his decision to become a dragon trainer, and Kat's increasing amounts of letters to and from Seamus, as well as her stays with Hermione and Ginny (Luna was travelling the countryside with her dad) and their stays with her, the warm, sunny months were anything but dull. Kat also kept a lookout for any more letters from Narcissa Malfoy or anything about Bellatrix Lestrange, but nothing came across her path. Then one day the Prophet came in with shocking news.

Kat found out when she went downstairs for breakfast one morning. Tyler and Nate were both reading the front page, something that rarely happened. "What's going on?" Kat asked as she grabbed a muffin.

"Get this. Apparently some guy named Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban." Tyler said, pointing to a picture of a very angry man in prison.

"What's the daily news?" came the voice of their mum, who had just entered the kitchen. She began to rummage through the cabinets as Nate explained.

"Some mass murderer named Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban prison."

Mum spun around and snatched the paper from her children, a strange look on her face. She read the article quickly before throwing it back onto the table and hurrying out of the room.

Kat, Nate, and Tyler glanced at each other before peeking into the hall to see where she'd gone. They heard her voice from her bedroom, and then their father's, and then her voice louder. "That was odd." Nate said, picking up the paper again and turning it to the sports section.

"I'll say. I've never seen her react to the news like that before." Tyler said.

"Wait a minute, isn't he the one that killed Harry's parents?" Kat asked, taking the paper from Nate and flipping back to the front page, ignoring his protests. "Do you suppose she knew them?"

"It's possible." Tyler said as Nate grumbled something about 'just wanting to read the bloody sports'. "She's around the same age as his parents were. But what are the chances that our mum was friends with Harry Potter's parents?"

"I guess you have a point." Kat said. "Still, I don't know why else she would've reacted like that."

Nate grabbed the paper from Kat, who had resumed eating her muffin, and flipped back to the sports page. "It's not as if she'd tell us if we asked."

"Asked what?"

The three siblings spun around to see their dad leaning against the door frame. He looked tired, but his eyebrow was raised in curiosity. "Come on, out with it."

"W-Well, um..." Tyler glanced at his brother and sister, who were both as at a loss for words as he was, unable to offer him any support. "We were curious about Mum's reaction to the news. About Sirius Black escaping Azkaban, I mean."

"We've never seen her react that way to any news before." Nate threw in.

A dark look crossed their father's face, and it was clear to his children that his mind was elsewhere. "Through history, many great men, wizard and Muggle alike, have been wrongly locked away. No court system is ever always right, they all make mistakes, sometimes horrible ones at that. If there is anything I am ever able to impress upon you three," he said, eyeing them carefully, "I hope it is that you cannot believe everything that a government, court, or paper tells you. You must decide for yourself who is innocent, and who is guilty; who is good, and who is bad. You must be able to see through the lies and the propaganda that they would have you believe."

Kat glanced at her brothers, thrown off. Was the man in front of them warning them about political lies really their down to Earth, Ministry worker father? "Who is they?" she asked cautiously.

He smiled sadly and said, "Everyone, my dear. Now, I'm going to go see if your mother is calmed down." With that, he left.

Tyler, Nate, and Kat stared at each other for a long moment. "That was strange." Tyler said slowly.

"Everything about today has been strange." Nate said. "First Mum getting upset, then Dad hinting at lies and propaganda and not being able to trust the government or courts or paper!"

"I think he was trying to tell us something." Kat said softly. "Something about Sirius Black."

Her brothers looked at her for a moment, slowly understanding. "You think that he thinks the Ministry is lying to us?" Tyler asked. "But about which part? Clearly he's out, they couldn't exactly falsely post _that_ in the Prophet."

"True." Nate said.

"I don't think it's that." Kat said. "I think that he was trying to tell us that he doesn't think that Sirius Black killed those Muggles, or Harry's parents."

"But all the evidence is there." Nate pointed out.

"I'm not saying I understand it, I'm just saying that all we know is our parents were around at the time and possibly knew either Black or the Potters. And based off of Mum's reaction and what Dad said, I think that they believe Black is innocent." Kat sad.

Neither of her brothers said anything for a moment. Then Tyler said, "I think we'd best keep this theory to ourselves." His siblings nodded.

Kat sighed. This was going to be another crazy year.

Diagon Alley was crowded, as usual. Mum and Dad had decided that their kids were old enough-and responsible enough-to get their school things on their own, so they'd sent the kids off with Floo powder and told them not to spend all of their money. Tyler had already disappeared with Rachelle somewhere and Nate was out looking for his friends, so Kat found herself shopping on her own. She had just entered Flourish & Blott's when she heard someone the bell ring behind her. Kat turned, book in hand. Standing just inside the doorway was Seamus Finnigan.

"I was starting to think I wasn't gonna see you until we got to school." He said, walking over to her. He'd grown taller over the summer; she had to look up at him now, they weren't eye level anymore.

"Didn't you get my post? I told you I'd be in the Alley today." She replied, a flirtatious smile on her lips.

He smiled at her, and something about that smile sent butterflies to her stomach. "I did. So I've been looking for you."

"Really now? Why is that?" Kat asked, noticing that there wasn't but a few inches of space in between them.

"Yeah, why is that?" Kat and Seamus both jumped at the sound of her older brother's voice in the doorway. Neither of them had heard the bell ring. Kat wondered just how long Nate had been standing there, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.

"I haven't seen her all summer. Thought I'd say hi before we got to the school." Seamus said.

Nate nodded slightly. "You've said hello, and last I checked you didn't need to be quite so close to my sister to do that."

Suddenly the situation became very awkward for Kat, looking back between Seamus and her brother. "I'd best be going." Seamus finally said, looking at Kat again. "Got to finish shopping, you know. See you at school, Kat." He smiled again before turning and leaving the shop, not meeting Nate's eyes as he passed.

"Was that necessary?" Kat asked, glaring at her brother in obvious annoyance.

"He didn't need to be that close to say hello." Nate said.

Kate rolled her eyes and walked to the counter to purchase her books. Nate followed. "Don't think I didn't see how he was looking at you. He likes you."

"We're friends, Nate. That's all." Kat said, handing the shop owner her money and collecting her books.

"Is that all you want to be?" Nate asked, studying his sister for a reaction.

Kat let out a sigh of exasperation. "I know there's a reason you came to find me, and not just because you were worried my _friend_," she said, emphasizing the word, "was flirting with me. So what is it?"

Nate shrugged. "I found Fred and George. They're with their family over at the Leaky Cauldron, and wanted us to join them for lunch. Tyler's taking Rachelle on a date, I already asked him."

"Let's head over there then." Kat said, heading out of the shop. She heard Nate behind her, knowing he wasn't done questioning her but deciding she didn't want to deal with it right then.

The two reached the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes later, and were pleasantly surprised to see it wasn't too crowded. It didn't take long to find the redheaded Weasley family, minus Percy, all clustered at a table. Molly Weasley, a kind witch that was very motherly to her children's friends, caught sight of them first. "Over here, dears!" she called, waving them over. "Hello, Kat, darling, getting your shopping done alright?" she asked, giving Kat a hug when she and her brother reached the table.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley." Kat said, sitting down between Ginny and Hermione after greeting each of her friends, Ron and Harry included, with a quick hug.

"That's not all she's getting done." Nate teased. Kat shot a glare at him.

Apparently Hermione sensed that the subject should be changed, because she turned to Kat and said proudly, "I got a cat."

"Demon is more like it." Ron muttered.

"Crookshanks is not a demon." Hermione said.

"Now, let's all get along." Fred said. Kat noticed that the twins had grown their hair a bit longer.

"Yes, let's all get along. After all, we're all _friends_ here." Nate said, smirking pointedly at Kat.

Her glare was back, and intensified. "You're pushing your luck."

The Weasley family was clearly confused. "What are you two going on about?" Ron finally asked.

"Yes, sister dearest, what am I going on about?"

"I haven't a clue, brother darling." Kat said, the look in her eyes a very clear warning that Nate was choosing to ignore.

"Kat's got a thing going with Finnigan." Nate said quickly, to which Kat immediately replied, "I do not!"

Eyebrows raised, Hermione said, "Finnigan? As in Seamus Finnigan?"

"That would be the one." Nate said, sitting back in his chair.

Kat rolled her eyes. "He found me in Flourish and Blotts and stopped in to say hello, and ask about my summer. Then that one," she said, jerking her thumb in Nate's direction, "scared us and read into it."

"He was closer than he needed to be." Nate said, suddenly losing his playful grin and going into protective older brother mode.

Thankfully Mrs. Weasley intervened and ended the conversation by saying, "Now if Kat did have something going on I'm sure she'd at least tell Ginny and Hermione, but regardless of if she does or doesn't it's no one's business but her own. And if she says nothing's going on, then nothing's going on."

Silence enveloped the table. Finally Kat said, "Where's Percy?"

Fred rolled his eyes. "Off being better than all of us. He kept himself locked in his room all summer and now he's off with his other high-and-mighty classmates."

"That's no way to speak of your brother, Fred." Mrs. Weasley said, but Kat could tell Percy's absence from the family scene bothered her more than she'd care to let on.

Conversation turned to school, mostly the Weasley and Maurder kids wondering who the new Defense teacher would be, and then on to other happier subjects. Everyone was ignoring what Nate had said about Kat and Seamus, and no one was willing to talk about Percy, but they were all avoiding the most unsettling topic of all: Sirius Black.

Finally Mrs. Weasley said it was time to go and that everyone needed to get a good amount of rest for the next day, since that was when they were to depart for school. After quick goodbyes and promises to meet on the platform, Nate and Kat left to go find Tyler and Rachelle, who was coming for dinner, and go home. Kat really liked the older girl; Rachelle was pretty and smart, and wickedly funny. She would join Kat in teasing the boys relentlessly, and Tyler really liked her.

Rachelle was helping Kat finish packing when she said, "You know, it's really sweet the way your brothers care about you so much." Kat looked up questioningly. Rachelle smiled. "Tyler told me about Nate finding you in the bookstore with Seamus."

Kat groaned. "Oh no, they haven't roped you into finding anything out for them, have they?"

"No, not at all. Not to say they didn't try," Rachelle said with a grin, "but I told them that it's your business and they have no say. I just wanted to say that if you ever want advice, or someone to talk to that isn't your brothers or one of yours and Seamus' mutual friends, I'm always around."

Kat smiled. "Thanks, Rachelle. I might take you up on that."

Rachelle returned Kat's smile, and the two resumed packing. _Yep, _Kat thought, _she's a keeper._

Platform 9 3/4 was bustling, as always. Dad was at work again, but Mum had accompanied them. Her hair had been pulled into a bun, mostly so as to not attract the attention of any Muggles. Her hair did have a way of attracting attention, as did Kat's. Thankfully, though, Kat's hair was slightly more tame than her mum's now. Tyler, Nate, and Kat said their goodbyes to their mother before boarding the Hogwarts Express. Kat had searched unsuccessfully to find Luna, but she had to take a seat before the train left, so she decided to ride with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. When she entered the car, however, she was surprised to see a sleeping form in a corner by a window, cloak thrown over them.

"Who's that?" Kat asked, taking a seat next to Harry.

"No idea. He was sleeping when we got here." Harry said.

The four decided to ignore the man and let him sleep as they talked. Somehow Seamus got brought up, much to Kat's displeasure. She must have told them a million times that they weren't dating before Hermione finally convinced the boys to drop it. Suddenly the train lurched to a stop.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, looking out the window. "We can't be at Hogwarts yet."

"The train's never stopped before." Kat mused, looking out the door to the hallway.

"Should we go check it out?" Harry asked, reaching for his wand.

Before Harry could get up, however, the lights began to flicker. The air turned ice cold. Kat shivered, wondering what in the world was going on. A mist began to come over the glass door to the car. The five watched in curiosity as the door slid open. Kat's eyes widened in fear at what she saw before her.

The creature was draped in some sort of black cloak. As soon as it entered the room, Kat felt that the world had been drained of its happiness and light. It looked around the room for a minute before stopping in the direction of Harry. It floated over to Harry. As Kat watched helplessly, it began to do something she could only describe as sucking the life out of him. Harry's eyes flickered as he began to go limp.

Suddenly the sleeping man jumped up. "_Expecto Patronum_!" he shouted. A white light burst from the tip of his wand, causing the creature to shriek and flee. The moment the creature was gone, Harry fainted.

"Harry!"


End file.
